PRESIDENT DUTERTE: I remember distinctly very well that noong napag-usapan ‘yung 200 billion na ibibigay ng Congress sinabi ko sa Tagalog although broken because I really do not know how to talk well — it’s a mixture of Visayan and Tagalog in Davao — sinabi ko huwag na huwag ninyong — do not fuck up with this pera because it’s really a blood money now needed to keep the nation alive.
So wala akong ano — I am… I would listen to Secretary Duque. But I gave him the instruction and I admit it in public now, it’s being… Sabi ko sa kanya, “do everything you can”. Sabi niya, “there’s so many proposition”. “I do not care. If it’s not cheap, if it is expensive, go — just go ahead and do something about it kasi ipit na tayo dito.” And those were the early days. I remember ‘yung “ipit akong…” I was boxed in a corner.
Sabi ko sa… Even the Task Force, “please do something about it.” And the task force is a task force. It’s composed of — composed of many talents there. Kung ang utos nanggaling sa akin, correct. Tama ‘yan. Ako ang nagutos sa akin sa sarili ko na sabihin kay Duque na gawain mo. Ngayon do not tarry because sabi ko it’s — there’s no more room in the hospitals.
And alam mo sa totoo lang a pandemic is a pandemic. It occurs maybe every — I don’t know. But noong panahon ng… Well, that was the Spanish flu just before the First World War. Iyon talagang maraming milyon ang namatay. But with the advances of science it’s because we were able to come up with a vaccine, lahat… The germs are still here but they can no longer inflict damage on the next generation kasi nabakunahan na lahat.
But to say na nawala ‘yon, you do not kill bacteria and viruses. They linger on for as long as mankind is in this planet. Hindi talaga nawawala ‘yan. Sabihin mo ‘yang diphtheria… Well, hindi ‘yan… A vaccine cannot kill. It’s the body that provides the defense against those microbes.
Eh ito ngayon wala pang bakuna. So gusto ko lang malaman ng sambayanang Pilipino na I take full responsibility, na ang utos ko na mag — dalian mo. Wala akong pakialam kung saan ka magkuha, magnakaw ka and I remember saying it. I do not care whether you go and steal, borrow or kill a person to get what — what needs to be done.
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PRESIDENT DUTERTE: So let me interrupt you.
USEC. LAO: Yes, sir.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: So do not buy that kind of overall suit, that’s a plastic one, that would place the health workers — even if there is an — just an iota of chance na… Eh buhay ‘yan. Tama ‘yan. Iyon ang binili mo? USEC. LAO: Ah yes po, this high grade po, yes.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Tama ‘yan. Tama ‘yan. USEC. LAO: Uhm this…
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Walang problema. USEC. LAO: There is a standard set by DOH and FDA, ano po ‘to international standards, and we’re following that. We don’t go below kasi nga pa — the company can be sued, we can be sued, and…
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Yes, I agree with you.
No, no, again I interrupt you, do not ever do that.
USEC. LAO: Yes, sir.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: You just throw it away.
USEC. LAO: Yes, sir.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: If you place a person in jeopardy eh he is working, lalo na ‘yung mga doktor, they are fighting for life. Itapon mo na ‘yan. That’s the reason why we are spending money. And we will spend money. I said we can always sell everything that we have. Itapon na ninyo ‘yang ano — kasi na… I read. USEC. LAO: Yes, sir.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: So sa kanila, ‘yung reusable, goes into the trash can pagkatapos. ‘Pag hubad nila, tapon na sa trash can.
DOH SECRETARY FRANCISCO DUQUE III: I just would like to provide you feedback that the director of UP-PGH, Dr. Gap Legaspi, had expressed to me that they are very, very satisfied with the quality and the level of protection that these PPEs provide their doctors. Kaya iyong infection rate daw nila bumaba, Mr. President.
So that is — the same is true for all of our other hospitals who are now using this personal protective equipment. That’s why I’d like to thank Usec. Lloyd Lao for really ensuring that our healthcare workers, doctors and nurses, are fully protected using the Level 4 PPEs as we have specified.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: ‘Pag panahong ito medyo — some say na nag — nag-flat na tayo. But ang problema, the number of cases is going high some 1-4-3-1-9, 14,319. Kung sabagay the only good thing there going in our favor was that the recovery rate is very high, 3,323. Ang death five lang, bago. Total of active cases 10,000 lang. Ano ba talaga itong — are we on the second, third, fourth or fifth wave? O no wave at all?
SEC. DUQUE: Mr. President, we’re actually on the first major wave — major po of sustained community transmission. Iyon pong nabanggit ko na second wave and my — my assumption, my statement, was based on the article that was published by Dr. John Wong of the EpiMetrics.
Dr. John Wong sits as one of the expert advisers of the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease. And to him, as an epidemiologist, a top epidemiologist, he considers the three first cases in the Philippines, although imported, would represent a minor wave. Maliit na wave lang ho siya, sir. Tapos nagkaroon po tayo ng lull of about a month, the whole of February. And then March nagkaroon ho tayo ng mga umpisang reported cases.
PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Alam mo, huwag kang masyadong ano dito — touchy sa mga issues because always there will be pro and cons. Pakinggan na lang natin because this is a democracy. Kaya lang but democracy there is the favor of attacks, issues plus attacking the guy personally ganun.
So alam ko ikaw you are hard-pressed and I know your situation. You just tell us if it that’s the — if that is that the one that’s in your — the gray matter between your ears, eh ‘di sabihin mo. Ngayon kung ayaw ninyong maniwala, bahala kayo basta ito ‘yung akin.
So that… Maybe you should adopt that kind of attitude. So be it. If I committed the wrong, as long as there is no malice there. Kagaya ito na expensive. Hearing out now ni Attorney Lao, eh tama siya. And I would even caution I said do not recycle because recycle you have to… Iyan ang ayaw ko. In recycling, you have to worry whether or not it will cause a new infection and worse it would affect the user. Ang user niyan ang mga doktor eh.
So ang akin lang dito is I’m looking for… What I’m interested to know is that is there graft and corruption there? Was dirty money — changed hands? Kaya ‘yan talagang — pagka ‘yan na, wala na tayong pinag-usapan, talagang mag-hiwalay-hiwalay tayo. Pero kung magsabi ka lang nagkamali ka…
Pero as it is iyong magsabi mahal-mahal ang ano… Ito nga eh panahon ng — I said at the height of the contagion, wala naman akong narinig p i* gustong tumulong. Ngayon saan tayo, sabi — umaabot sa akin, “mayroon dito”, “mayroon doon”. Eh ‘di sige so sabi ko ‘di papunta — ayan si Bong — papuntahin mo sila dito at dalhin nila ‘yung produkto kay para tawagin natin ang — ibigay natin sa Inter-agency Task Force.
Wala naman.