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- He added that people should not focus on the wrongdoings of the administration as it’s already a part of the past.
- Several improvements on COVID-19 matters have been noted because of the complaints of the netizens.
On April 8, the Malacanang called on the public to make suggestions, not just criticisms, regarding the government’s response and actions on the health crisis the country is facing due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the suggestion and said that the public can direct their concerns to officials so that it can be addressed accordingly. He also said that people should not focus on criticizing the administration as issues are currently being solved.
“Sana at this time of our crisis, yun pong mga pagpuna natin sa pamahalaan e wag na muna tayong maging masyadong mainit doon. Kumbaga, nakaraan na yon at ginagawan na ng paraan,” Panelo said in a virtual briefing.
“Siguro mas maganda magbigay po tayo ng mungkahi na lang. Yung nakita natin na hindi maganda na hindi nagawa, ipasa po agad natin.”
Some moves by the government were actually changed/caused by complaints of Filipinos such as the Department of Health’s initial plan to give medical volunteers just a Php500 allowance. The DOH later made an apology after people complained about the pitiful sum and said that they will offer proper compensation and increase the salary of frontliners.
Another issue was when the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) wanted to question Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto for supposedly violating a section of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
Netizens along with other senators questioned the NBI as the law shouldn’t be retroactive. With that, the hashtag #ProtectVicoSotto trended worldwide and resulted in the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) backing up the mayor, saying that NBI’s move was a “useless political distraction”.
There are 3,870 COVID-19 cases in the Philippines as of this writing.
