President Rodrigo Duterte claimed he had done all he could to fulfill his oath of office even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, in a recorded address that aired on Wednesday.
“Sa Pilipino, ito ang maiiwan ko sa inyo. Bababa rin ako, matatapos rin ako balang-araw. I will not be there for the longest time. Pero sabihin ko sa inyo, iyong oath of office ko talagang tinupad ko,” he said.
“Kung sabihin ninyo ako ang nagkulang? E sorry. Ginawa ko ang lahat ko. Kung ang lahat ko hindi pa — kulang pa, e ‘di patawad po,” he added.
Duterte also appealed for medical workers’ understanding over the delays in the government’s release of benefits.
“Give us time to adjust to the finances because the fluctuation of events hindi natin malaman, kagaya nito bigla na lang. Sino bang nag-aakala na mayroong pandemya?” he said.
Duterte has been widely criticized for not banning travel between the Philippines and China earlier before Covid-19 became a pandemic.
A nationwide survey by PUBLiCUS Asia in July found that Duterte’s approval rating dropped from 65 percent in the first quarter of the year to 57.93 percent in the second quarter.
Despite the drop, Duterte remained the Philippine government official with the highest rating.
He was also behind some of the country’s most questioned measures amid the pandemic, including the use of face shields.
He said that he had to retain the face shield policy due to the threat of the Delta Covid-19 variant.
“Noong dumating itong variant na Delta, natakot ako. Iyon, mali ko ‘yun. Ako ang nagsabi na huwag na. Admitahin ko ‘yun, walang problema. Akin ‘yun. It was my call,” he said.
The Philippines has recorded 2,134,005 Covid-19 cases as of Sept. 8. John Ezekiel J. Hirro
