Actress Angelica Panganiban reacted to Sen. Risa Hontiveros‘s tweet listing the Philippines’ late COVID-19 responses.
On her Instagram Story, Panganiban wrote that the Philippines would be late recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Her story was a reaction to Sen. Hontiveros’s tweet from April 5, listing delays in the Philippines’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sadyang lagi na lang tayong late. Late magsara ng borders. Late mag-increase ng testing capacity. Late ang hazard pay ng health care workers. Late mag-report ng cases. Late mag-set up ng facilities.
— risa hontiveros (@risahontiveros) April 5, 2021
On the said tweet, Hontiveros wrote that the Philippines was late in closing its borders, implying delays in implementing a travel ban.
Then, Hontiveros listed that the Philippines was also late in increasing its testing capacity, which took months after its first recorded case of COVID-19.
Hontiveros also pointed out the late implementation of hazard pay for health care workers, with reports citing delays as far as February 2021.
Hontiveros also called out the instances of late reporting of COVID-19 cases, which increases the difficulty in contact tracing.
Finally, Hontiveros also listed the late establishment of COVID-19 facilities to combat the resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
Panganiban’s response to Hontiveros’ that the country will be late in recovering from the pandemic aptly described the situation since it took months before health restrictions in the Philippines eased up.
Earlier, Panganiban called for free mass testing amid the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country.
