The government has constantly blamed the public for its failure to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 in the Philippines.
With the recent surge of cases, Department of Health chief Francisco Duque III partly blamed the public for the improper use of face masks and face shields, which necessitates minimizing the spread of the coronavirus.
During Monday’s briefing, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte asked Duque why the number of cases continues to inflate. Duque responded that the masses are only using face shields and face masks as signs of compliance with the health protocols.
“Umiikot din po ako halos araw-araw, pumupunta ako sa mga palengke, na parang hindi na nasunod ‘yong naka-gano’n po Mr. President, tapos ang face shield naka-gano’n na lang eh, parang token lang ang compliance,” told Duque to Duterte.
Duque blaming the public for the ballooning of cases, which jumped to 8,019 new cases last Monday, several celebrities and netizens were berated by the Health Secretary’s washing of hands.
Radio and television personality Sam Gogna roasted Duque for his remark regarding facemasks being worn improperly.
This was after Duque was seen during a briefing that he was wearing his facemask below his nose.
Ayun lang pic.twitter.com/JibJfrvwUt
— Sam Gogna (@sam_yg) March 24, 2021
Human rights lawyer Maria Sol Taule also blasted Duque for his remark. Taule clapped back at the secretary as she posted photos of Duque along with Pres. Duterte and his spokesperson Harry Roque who were captured not wearing mask properly.
KASALANAN NAMING LAHAT MALIBAN SA INYO. OKAY. pic.twitter.com/yAYUKjmJ1i
— Maria Sol Taule (@soltaule) March 24, 2021
Rapper BLKD also poked fun at how Roque wore his facemask. The rapper asked whether Roque improperly wore his facemask or it’s just that he’s got a long chin.
https://twitter.com/imBLKD/status/1374596085088362500
A netizen also pointed out that the picture says it all—it was the government to blame for the inflation of Covid cases in the country.
https://twitter.com/istariray23/status/1374626176023425025
Another netizen criticized Duque for blaming the masses. Recently, Presidential Spokesperson Roque has insisted that the country did an excellent job in mitigating the spread of Covid-19. However, with the recent surge of cases, the government once again puts the blame on its constituents.
https://twitter.com/altaircalli/status/1374716189616656387
With the government not taking the heat, a netizen suggested that the administration should accept the fact that they were incompetent with their pandemic response.
https://twitter.com/dwrdrabago/status/1374705803832090628
While Duque was blaming the public, it has turned into a blaming game as netizens blamed the government for its poor governance amid the pandemic.
https://twitter.com/iamroweee/status/1374694474010349573
A netizen also ridiculed the DOH chief who still uses his tactic—a meter stick—while giving out facemasks and face shields to the public.
Face mask and face shield and meter stick pangontra sa covid! Oh yeah!! https://t.co/Lg35pHkbmC
— @badunkadunk (@badunkadunk4) March 24, 2021
Recently, celebrities were taken aback as Duque, amid the recorded 7,103 cases, was busy conducting personal visits as part of his agency’s “Bida Bastonero/Bastonera” campaign. Instead of coming up with solutions for the continuous rise of cases, Duque went back to his strategy of reminding the public to maintain social distancing.
Last year, Duque was seen conducting inspections on malls and reminding mall-goers to observe physical distancing. However, his posse was caught clumping together to take photos of him while he conducts his inspection.
