Charles Teves
Pres. Rodrigo Duterte had the public frustrated after he revealed that he just realized the importance of COVID-19 mass testing.
In a televised address to the nation, Duterte directed Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to find a way to make testing free for the Filipino people.
“You know, what’s really important, and I realized now, it’s the testing, the swabbing, the test. It’s expensive,” Duterte told Duque on Monday.
“So maybe if you can give me a figure, see if there’s money, and we will just buy [testing kits]. And in all government hospitals or in health centers, we will give [tests] free of charge,” he added.
He also ordered Duque to roll-out the testing in 2021’s second quarter.
The president last month ordered the Department of Health and the Department of Trade and Industry to not overcharge testing.
The joint order of the two agencies allows private laboratories to only charge P4,500 to P5,000 per test.
Netizens found it funny at the same time sad that Duterte decided to prioritize COVID-19 testing only now.
You know what’s f*ckd up? When the govt realizes that testing is very important as one of the control measures, 9 months into this pandemic.
Nasabihan pa tayong mga OA when we asked for mass testing last May. Ano ngayon? Nga-nga tayong lahat.
— Tom (@MATom_MD) December 7, 2020
Ang daming nagsasabing hindi na raw dapat hanapin o kalampagin si Duterte kasi alam nito ang dapat gawin.
Oo, si Duterte na 9 months bago naisip na importante ang swab tests.
— Ogie Rosa (@ogie_rosa) December 8, 2020
Grabe ang realization inabot ng 9 months 😅 https://t.co/6DipCRWCjh
— Jerome Carlos Vargas (@TheJeromeVargas) December 7, 2020
It has almost been a year since COVID-19 was characterized as a pandemic.
And as always, Vice President Leni Robredo has proven that she’s a better leader than Duterte could ever be.
Late last April on her radio show, Robredo highlighter the need for mass testing, citing how South Korea at the time was already opening up stores even with over 10,000 recorded cases thanks to their testing capacity.
“Kahapon yata iyong first day na nagbukasan na iyong mga tindahan. Hindi pa yata lahat, pero nagbukasan na iyong mga tindahan. Pero iyong analysis nila, kaya na nila itong gawin kasi mayroon na silang mass testing,” she said.
Vice President Leni Robredo and the people urged the government to do this MARCH pa lang.
Mahigit 440,000 na ang naging kaso, mahigit 8,500 na ang namatay at marami ang nawalan ng hanapbuhay tapos ngayon mo lang maiisip 'to?
Gaano ka kabagal? Daig pa ba ang pagong? https://t.co/JaUmKRd2Da
— skullohmania 💀 (@skullohmania) December 8, 2020
bagong gising ka ghorl https://t.co/acncVQI1t1
— Malacañang Events and Catering Services (@MalacananEvents) December 7, 2020
Nanganak na po yung mga nabuntis nung March https://t.co/H5rJypIZD9
— Jai Cabajar (@jaicabajar) December 7, 2020
Also last April, Robredo’s office allotted P14 million of its 2020 budget for test kits developed by scientists from the University of the Philippines-National Institute of Health.
Hay naku Duterte. Tulog ka lang kasi ng tulog. Tanginamoccang matanda ka. https://t.co/ScmnNMHOYm
— supernegatrona AKA pink 5 (@supernegatrona) December 7, 2020
Aba tama ka naman diyan. Oh ayan ah fair naman tayo. Magkakatalo lang sa implementation talaga. https://t.co/doM5NY2GhH
— Jules Guiang (@julesguiang) December 7, 2020
Na halos one year after the pandemic started bago nya to na-gets ay minor detail lamang. https://t.co/t8xW6WAilq
— 🍉Demontitang Aczar mrsunlawyer @Spoutible @mas.to (@mrsunlawyer) December 7, 2020
On top of all the insults, netizens also likened Duterte to the Internet Explorer, a web browser subjected to jokes about being slow in searching and processing information.
Internet Explorer is trending, b/c netizens are mocking Duterte's light bulb moment about the importance of swab tests.
B/c just like Duterte "the 10-Sleeps-Ahead President," Internet Explorer is very slow.
So, if you see Internet Explorer trending here today, now you know.
— Francis Baraan IV (@MrFrankBaraan) December 8, 2020
internet explorer being compared to duterte is just the perfect analogy ever: slow, unresponsive, and literally outdated. https://t.co/Byih0hSywA
— burgs (@ielburgos) December 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/eltiburongrande/status/1336213453292204032?s=20
https://twitter.com/brtmrtnz0/status/1336205761928556545?s=20
The said browser trended for a while.
https://twitter.com/manong_giroy/status/1336207892416872450?s=20
Robredo is just so much better than the president, says a netizen.
Too slow than Chrome.
Duterte = Internet Explorer
Robredo, others = Chrome, Safari— Jiggy Sevilla (@JiggySevilla) December 8, 2020
Si DUTERTE ang HUMAN VERSION ng INTERNET EXPLORER…
… na ISP BONANZA ang CONNECTION.
— Panget! At The Disco (@alipinngalindog) December 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/makeway4naddie/status/1335979121273257985?s=20
