Contrary to President Rodrigo Duterte’s tirades against the medical community’s recommendation to the government, a group of health workers said on Monday that they have never once called for a revolution.
Medical workers aired their suggestion in an online seminar because it was not that easy to get an audience with the country’s leader, said Dr. Antonio Dans, spokesperson for the Healthcare Professions Alliance against COVID-19. Moreover, as the situation becomes more dire, there is not time to wait for a schedule before their voices are heard.
“Emergency po ito… Gaano kadali bang kumuha ng audience with the President? Ganoon lang ba iyon, ‘pag sinabi namin, may audience kaagad? Mabuti kung may isang buwan kaming mai-schedule. Eh ‘di, ano nang nangyari ‘pag ganoon?” Dans told ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo.
[This is an emergency. Is it that easy to get an audience with the President? Is it just like that, we say we want an audience and we get one immediately? It’s good if we have a month to wait for a schedule. But if we did that, what would have happened?]
“Hindi ho kami nagtatawag ng rebolusyon. Saan ba nanggaling iyon?” added Dans.
[We are not calling for a revolution. Where did that come from?]
Although Duterte listened to the suggestion of medical workers and shifted back Mega Manila to the second strictest out of 4 lockdown levels from Aug. 4 to 18, he also went on a rant against health workers and urged them to “do the soul-searching” and “do not try to demean government” by criticizing it.
“Next time, you can ask for an audience. Pero ‘wag ho kayong magsigaw-sigaw, rebolusyon, rebolusyon,” Duterte said.
Health workers clarified that they only wanted to help the government with their suggestion and at the same time give voice to the exhausted frontliners who have been battling the virus head on since it came to the country.
