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Maliit na bagay? Palace denies Duterte belittling COVID-19 crisis

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Jamaine Punzalan, ABS CBN News 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/03/16/20210315-duterte-iatf-mnib6-2.jpg"/><figcaption>President Rodrigo Duterte presides over a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) prior to his talk to the people at the Malacañang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in Malacañang Park, Manila on March 15, 2021. <em>King Rodriguez, Presidential Photo</em></figcaption></figure></div><div> </div><p>MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte is not belittling the COVID-19 crisis despite a recent comment, Malacañang said on Tuesday, over a year into the Philippine pandemic lockdown that left millions jobless and thousands dead. </p><p>Duterte had on late Monday told the public to refrain from despairing over the pandemic. </p><p>&quot;Maliit na bagay ito sa buhay natin. Marami tayong dinaanan mas ano, mas grabe, mas mahirap, mas magluluha... Huwag kayong matakot at hindi ko kayo iiwanan,&quot; he said. </p><p>(This is a small matter in our life. We have gone through so many things that are worse, more difficult, more saddening. Do not be afraid for I will not leave you.)</p><p>Asked what the President meant by this, his spokesman Harry Roque, currently sick with COVID-19, said: &quot;Ang sinasabi po ng Presidente ay patuloy naman pong ang Pilipinas ay nabubuhay sa kabila ng COVID-19.&quot;</p><p>(The President is saying that life goes on for the Philippines despite COVID-19.)</p><p>The Philippines has a lower death rate from COVID-19 than other richer countries with a better health care systems, he said. </p><p>&quot;Ang sinasabi ng Presidente, temporary lang &#x27;yan, hindi po iyan forever, lilipas po iyan. At pagdating po ng bakuna, magkakaroon tayo ng solusyon sa ating problema, pagkakaroon pong tayo ng new normal,&quot; Roque said in a press briefing from quarantine.</p><p>&quot;Hindi po minamaliit ng Presidente ang ating paghihirap pero ang sinasabi po niya, babangon naman po tayo d&#x27;yan, we will heal as one.&quot; </p><p>(The President is saying it&#x27;s only temporary, it&#x27;s not forever, it will pass. And once the vaccines arrive, we will have a solution to our problem, we will have a new normal. The President is not belittling our suffering, but he is saying we will rise up, we will heal as one.) </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1640939" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar" style="text-align:center"><em>Video courtesy of PTV </em></div><div> </div><p>The Philippines is battling a surge in COVID-19 cases, recording the <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/15/21/ph-logs-5404-new-covid-19-cases-4th-highest-since-pandemic-started">largest daily increase since mid-August</a> on Monday with 5,404 new infections. This as its inoculation program just started. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/16/21/palace-philippines-nearing-august-2020-covid-19-peak">Palace: Philippines &#x27;nearing&#x27; August 2020 COVID-19 peak</a></li></ul><p>This has prompted Metro Manila, the country&#x27;s coronavirus hotspot that is home to more than 12 million people, to <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/16/21/metro-manila-prohibits-minors-from-going-outdoors-for-2-weeks">prohibit minors from leaving their residences</a>, reimpose nighttime curfews, ban liquor, and put in place localized lockdowns in areas with high infection rates. </p><p>Facing criticism about a slow-moving vaccination drive, coronavirus strategy chief Carlito Galvez said more doses should arrive soon.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/16/21/philippines-to-get-14-million-sinovac-covid-19-shots-this-march">Philippines to get 1.4 million Sinovac COVID-19 shots this March</a></li></ul><p>Galvez said there was no plan to halt the use of AstraZeneca&#x27;s vaccine to inoculate health care workers, even as several European countries have paused its use after reports of possible serious side-effects.</p><p>The government has also signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India for <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/16/21/philippines-secures-30-million-doses-of-novavax-covid-19-vaccine-galvez">30 million Novavax vaccine doses</a>, due to arrive in the third or fourth quarter of the year, said Galvez. </p><div> </div>

<p>President Rodrigo Duterte is not belittling the COVID-19 crisis, despite a recent comment, Malacañang said on Tuesday, over a year into the Philippine pandemic lockdown that left millions jobless and thousands dead. </p>

President Rodrigo Duterte is not belittling the COVID-19 crisis, despite a recent comment, Malacañang said on Tuesday, over a year into the Philippine pandemic lockdown that left millions jobless and thousands dead.

Maliit na bagay? Palace denies Duterte belittling COVID-19 crisis

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Maliit na bagay? Palace denies Duterte belittling COVID-19 crisis

Jamaine Punzalan,

ABS CBN News

Published Mar 16, 2021 04:29 PM PHT

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