Delta lockdown possible – Duterte
President Duterte is not ruling out imposing stricter lockdowns if threats from the COVID-19 Delta variant continue.
In his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday, Duterte also called on Filipinos to “overcome the crippling fear, anxiety” spawned by COVID.
“It seems that it is really dangerous, we really have to go back to a lockdown,” Duterte said.
Initially, he stressed the need for better management of the health crisis, as “we cannot afford more lockdowns lest our economy bleeds to the point of irreversible damage.”
He said steps have been taken “to reverse the impact of the pandemic on the economy” and
“bring the country back to its robust growth path.”
“I hope it will not go any further but if something wrong happens I have to be strict,” he said. “If it requires a new vaccine, we do not have it yet. I don’t know, maybe we will just have to pray for salvation. We tell the Lord, we have really done anything.”
It’s been more than a year since the government imposed a lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, which has already infected more than 1.5 million Filipinos, with more than 27,000 deaths.
“The pandemic has taken so much of us as a nation, but life… it can never take our courage and our spirit of bayanihan and the value of malasakit has become indelible for us Filipinos,” he said.
Duterte said the government has provided efficient services to the public to address the problem. He urged the public to do its part in observing health protocols to avoid a resurgence of the virus, including the more transmissible Delta variant.
He also cited his administration’s National Economic Recovery Strategy, aimed at energizing the labor market through the creation of a policy to increase employment, livelihood and training opportunities.
Duterte reported that the government has provided about P988 million in loans to thousands of enterprises during the pandemic under the Bayanihan 1 Act.
Since last March, Duterte said the country has received as many as 30 million doses of vaccines, with another 36 million arriving this month.
The government is targeting giving 17 million Filipinos their first dose by August. “I think the health landscape of the country continues to improve,” he said.
The President also lauded San Juan City for being able to vaccinate 70 percent of its population or 126,347 people based on the 2020 census.
“The health protocols we put in place have helped prevent the spread of the virus,” Duterte said. “I am imploring our countrymen who are in the list to be inoculated to be vaccinated now.”
Early in his speech, Duterte credited the initiatives of his economic team led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III for making the country’s economy strong during the first few years of his term.
The outbreak of the pandemic, he admitted, set back his administration’s gains.
“Due to the brilliant programs and excellent work of our economic managers and the extraordinary cooperation between the executive and the legislative branches of government, our economy, with investor confidence, was poised to leapfrog into the company of the world’s fastest growing economies until the COVID-19 pandemic stalled everything,” he said.
He acknowledged the big role played by health workers in the treatment and prevention of the further spread of the disease, amid complaints that they are overworked and underpaid.
He also thanked local government officials and other frontliners for working with the national government in the fight against COVID-19.
“Be that as it may, allow me this opportunity to extend my personal and the nation’s gratitude to all those who selflessly gave their all in the fight against COVID-19,” he said.
“Our health workers and other frontliners who risked their own safety to keep our essential health services and our food supply chain running and ensure peace and order in our communities,” he said.
Duterte also extended his “deepest appreciation” for the generosity of the private sector that came to the government’s aid in the fight against COVID-19.
“I am profoundly thankful for your sustained assistance to our fellow Filipinos, amidst the same deleterious effect of the pandemic to your respective industries. Let me assure you that the government is committed to assist the private sector to regain the commercial vibrance of the country prior to the pandemic,” he said.
“To our local executives, this pandemic pushed you to step up and deliver responsive assistance,” Duterte said.