Duterte thumbs down bid to further open up economy

MANILA -- President Rodrigo Duterte does not agree with the proposal to fully open up the economy, saying the government does not have the funds to address a further increase in cases of coronavirus infection.

He noted that countries that have opened up their economies such as the US, Brazil,

Japan, and South Korea despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic all experienced a surge in cases.

“So we have to be very circumspect with the opening of the economy. Dahan-dahan lang (Let’s do it gradually),” he said in a public address aired at 1 a.m. Wednesday, July 8, 2020.

“Because if we open the entire Philippines and thousands upon thousands of new cases would happen, then we are in deep s—t. Talagang mahirapan tayo. Unang-una, wala tayong pera (First of all, we don’t have the funds),” he added.

He said countries that have opened up their economies have the funds to address a public health crisis.

“Tayong pobre (Poor countries like ours), we cannot afford really a total epidemic or pandemonium. Mahirap tayo. Di ta puwede sumugal. (We are poor. We cannot take risks.) I cannot follow the example of other countries,” Duterte said.

He said any governance decision should be based on science.

“Governance is not made of guesses. It has to be anchored on pure science,” he said.

As of July 7, coronavirus cases in the Philippines reached 47,873, of which 34,178 were active cases.

Of the total, 12,386 have recovered while 1,309 had died.

The Department of Health (DOH) recorded the biggest single-day spike of 2,434 cases on July 5, followed by 2,099 on July 6 and 1,540 on July 7.

Duterte echoed the DOH’s statement that the country is still on the first wave of infections.

“Have we arrived at the second wave? I don’t think so. We are still grappling with the first wave,” he said. /