MANILA – Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque slammed critics who found President Rodrigo Duterte’s 2020 State of the Nation Address (SONA) lacking in terms of providing the public a concrete and detailed action plan on how the Philippines will recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Siguro po bingi sila,” Roque said in a Palace press briefing on Tuesday. “Kanya kanyang pananaw po yan at siyempre galing sila sa oposisyon wala silang mabuting makikita sa sinabi ng Presidente.”
According to Roque, Duterte urged the passage of the proposed Corporate Recovery and the Tax Incentives for Enterprises and the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act, which aims to provide a stimulus package to offset the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Palace spokesperson said that the government would ramp up testing, contact tracing and treatment of COVID-19 cases.
Roque also said that President Duterte called for Filipinos’ cooperation to defeat the pandemic and urged citizens to share their blessings with those who have little and those who have none.
“At nandiyan din po ‘yung pasalamat ni Presidente sa IATF, sa ating frontliners at sa lahat ng nagbibigay ng pagkain sa siyudad habang meron po tayong COVID-19,” Roque said.
Roque then explained why Duterte did not “go into details” during his SONA, saying that the specifics have been discussed in the pre-SONA fora held in the weeks leading up to Monday’s event.
“Meron na tayong pre-SONA na tinatawag kung saan ‘yung ating mga economic managers dinetalye po ‘yung mga hakbang na gagawin natin para tayo ay makabangon dahil nga po sa sigalot na dulot ng COVID-19,” Roque said./PN
