President Rodrigo Duterte reinstated Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal from the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) from August 4 to August 18. This follows the recommendation of the Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III after a group of medical workers spoke to him.
While The President was initially sympathetic in tone as he recognized the months-long ‘bone-weary’ efforts against COVID-19, he later chastised the same group for pvblicly airing their grievances and calling for the timeout.
In a speech aired late Sunday, the President warned healthcare workers not to “demean [the] government” after they had publicly grieved about their plight instead of seeking an audience with the administration.
The President’s word were prompted by health workers’ appeal for a reimposition of a strict lockdown in Metro Manila to give them time to recuperate from exhaustion due to the continuous surge of COVID-19 cases nationwide, which had already breached the 100,000 mark.
“Then you threaten a revolution. This is our country. You want us to destroy it? Start it now,” Duterte had said.
Nevertheless, the President approved the reimposition of a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila and other nearby provinces as the country continue to see a surge of COVID-19 cases.
‘There is no need for you and for the guys, 1,000 of you, telling us what to do publicly. You could have just written us a letter. Lahat naman ng sinasabi ninyo sinusunod namin’, scolded Duterte.
“We are not competent here because we are not doctors. Kayo ang dapat ang mag-ano. You should do the soul-searching, not us. Kayong makatulong sana at wala kayong ginagawa kung magreklamo, what can I do?” he said.
Netizens started to get angry when President Duterte directed towards a statement made towards the medical community during a live Malacañang briefing. The shift gained reactions from socials, with the hashtags #LetLeniLead and #TanginaMoDuterte trending on Twitter.
Top 1 trending this Monday morning on Twitter PH and trend worldwide is the hashtag #TanginaMoDuterte
On social media, netizens lambasted President Duterte
“Covid is the enemy” but you chose to neglect millions of lives by letting them starve, not being able to provide proper PPEs, did not bother to conduct free mass testing, shut down ABS CBN, and passed the Anti-Terror Law.
— STEVAN★DREAMS (@stevandreams) August 3, 2020
You don’t give a fuck about us.#TANGINAMODUTERTE
[political, you can skip if you want]
— kirsten⁷ 🧨 (@jiminluvxx) August 3, 2020
quaratine started in MARCH and it’s already AUGUST. that’s 5 months without a concrete plan. there’s a 9 TRILLION debt that future generations will suffer from and now he’s saying we don’t have funds? fuck that. #TANGINAMODUTERTE #OustDu𓆉
This self confesed inutile is scolding the medical health care workers and experts. When will he realize that health workers are his best allies? #TANGINAMODUTERTE pic.twitter.com/Ldn5161KdU
— Pepc Paloma 🕊 💔💚💙 (@pepcpam) August 3, 2020
