The Duterte administration stands by its COVID-19 measures which include the imposition of strict and extended quarantine protocols to stop the further spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country.
“I don’t think there’s any regret about what we have implemented. We have protected our people and we’re hoping that in the near future, we will recover from the economic losses that we suffered because of the policy decision to uphold the right to life,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in an interview.
It was in March when President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire Luzon under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the most stringent quarantine measure, to combat Covid-19.
However, the threat of economic collapse prompted Duterte to eventually ease quarantine rules in the country.
Roque said the government made the “right move” because the Philippines has recorded lesser deaths compared to other nations, such as the United States, which has reported more than 100,000 deaths due to Covid-19.
As of Tuesday, a total of 26,781 Covid-19 infections have been recorded in the Philippines. Some 1,103 Covid-19 patients have died, while 6,552 people have recovered from the disease.
“We made the right move because, in terms of death, we have had in excess of a thousand, compare it to the hundreds of thousands that have already died just like in the United States,” he said.
