Amid the calls for the Philippines to carry out mass testing of the entire populace, vaccine czar VInce Dizon rejected the idea.
“Lahat po ng eksperto sa Pilipinas at sa buong mundo ay hindi po nirerekomenda ang mass testing ng lahat ng buong populasyon ng isang bansa. Ang kailangan po natin ay risk-based at targeted testing,” Dizon said in Tuesday’s briefing.
“Hindi pupuwede na ang tao mismo ang magdi-determine kung siya ay dapat magpa-test o hindi dahil kailangan ito ay either irirekomenda ng isang doktor, kung ikaw ay may sintomas or papasok ka sa guidelines na sinet ng eksperto,” he added.
The vaccine czar then insisted that the solution to mitigate the surge of Covid cases is to adhere to the minimum health standards.
While the public encourages the government to test the population, Dizon rejected such recommendation based on what the medical experts have “recommended.”
This statement coming from a vaccine czar did not sit well with the public. Over Twitter, several celebrities and netizens violently reacted to Dizon insisting that the Philippines does not need mass testing.
Kapamilya dancer-actress Dawn Chang compared the Philippines to Melbourne, Australia in terms of its pandemic response. According to the actress, Melbourne has free drive-thru PCR tests. This is to encourage the public to get tested for Covid-19.
https://twitter.com/thedawnchang/status/1379421353644806147
Journalist Kevin Manalo was enraged by Dizon’s statement. Manalo blamed the implementers such as Dizon why the Philippines is failing its battle against the pandemic.
See, it‘s really these implementers who are the problem! Just resign and give the role to someone else more competent.
— Kevin Manalo (@kevinmanalo_) April 6, 2021
Writer Jerry B. Grácio also took a swipe at Dizon for the government’s mishandling of the pandemic. Grácio reiterated that the Philippines has already undergone a year in the pandemic. But the officials responsible for fighting Covid-19 still implements the same protocols.
One year na, definition of terms pa rin, parang 'yung isang org. Di na lang magsipag-resign, e.
— Jerry B. Grácio (@JerryGracio) April 6, 2021
Journalist Barnaby Lo emphasized that the government knows what mass testing means. However, Lo also pointed out that the administration is trying to confuse the public with its recent statement.
Of course they know what mass testing means. They’re just muddling the definition because they can’t get the numbers up.
— Barnaby Lo 吳宗鴻 (@barnabychuck) April 6, 2021
A Twitter personality also questioned why Dizon, the CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), a person under investigation for graft, was appointed by the government as a vaccine czar. The netizen also questioned why a BCDA president was appointed instead of medical experts.
Dizon is the CEO of BCDA who's facing graft suit over the P11-B New Clark sports hub.
So ano nga ulit ang ginagawa ng isang taga-BCDA sa pandemic response o sa mass testing in particular?#DutertePalpak#FireDuque
— Leisbeth Recto (@leisbeth_recto) April 6, 2021
Journalist Tetch Torres-Tupas tried to enlighten Dizon with what mass testing actually means.
She wrote, “Pag sinabi bang mass wedding, buong populasyon kinasal? It’s the same with mass testing. Gets?”
Pag sinabi bang mass wedding buong populasyon kinasal? Its the same with mass testing. Gets? https://t.co/80PwZpExKK
— Tetch Torres-Tupas (@tetchtorres) April 6, 2021
Congressman Ruffy Biazon was disappointed that up until now, the government still has no capabilities to conduct mass testing for Filipinos. Biazon also stressed that the government should conduct strategic targeted testing rather than shotgun testing.
Hanggang ngayon nandun pa din tayo sa linyang “hindi natin kaya test lahat ng Pilipino”? Hindi pa ba natutunan na hindi naman shotgun testing ang dapat gawin kundi strategic targeted testing? https://t.co/s284gDKZsW
— Ruffy Biazon (@ruffybiazon) April 6, 2021
Pia Magalona’s opinion on the matter indicated that the Philippines need a true leader to lift the country from the pandemic. Magalona cited Vietnam’s action after it swore Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the person behind the country’s success in handling the pandemic, as president.
Wishing the pandemic away isn’t going to work. We NEED a true leader who will make the EFFORT to bring us to VICTORY.
Commie or not, these guys had a plan of action and stood by it. In our case, our reckless officials are driving us to death. https://t.co/M9NdHI6NDb
— Pia Magalona ⁷ (@piamagalona) April 6, 2021
While the Philippines is yet to conduct mass testing, several countries already mitigated the spread of the deadly virus.
Last December 2020, Bloomberg created a ranking of countries which has the best and the worst pandemic response.
New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Finland, Norway, Australia, China, Denmark, and Vietnam were in the top 10 performing countries in handling Covid-19. These countries all have something in common—mass testing.
Meanwhile, the list showed that the Philippines is at the bottom, ranked 46, meaning it is one of the worst-performing countries in handling the pandemic.
