Philippine Catholic bishops hit what they described as the government’s “lack of concrete plans” to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
The church leaders warned that the country’s economic and health situation will get worse because of President Rodrigo Duterte’s “mishandling” and “misplaced priorities.”
In an address to the nation on Aug. 10, the president again admitted that the government has no more funds to help Filipinos affected by the lockdown due to the pandemic.
“The money given by Congress has been spent to give you aid. I no longer have that. You’re on your own. That’s true. You have to get out and work so you can eat,” Duterte told the nation.
“Where is the money?” asked Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga, adding that the country has incurred “huge debts” that were supposed to be spent on the pandemic response.
The country’s Bureau of Treasury in July announced that the Philippines’ total outstanding debt soared to US$183.9 billion as the government borrowed more to address the health crisis.
The bureau said that there was an increase of about US$3.3 billion to the total debt stock in June “due to the net issuance and availment of domestic and external financing.”
Records from the Department of Finance showed that the Philippines has availed US$4.4 billion worth of program loans from January to June for coronavirus response.
Bishop Santos said the president’s statement is sending “mix messages.”
“We don’t know whether we have to take them seriously or as jokes,” said the bishop, adding that the question the president has to answer is where the money that the country borrowed went.
“We need actions, concrete plans, not threats, or empty promises. With incompetence and corruption in the government, we are going nowhere,” said Bishop Santos.
In his message, Duterte said he was in a “dilemma” between the appeal of the medical community for an extension of a stricter lockdown to quell the spread of the disease and the recovery of the economy.
“I’m between the devil and the deep blue sea,” said the president.
Bishop Arturo Bastes, retired prelate of Sorsogon, said the president’s dilemma is a sign of his “incompetence to govern the nation.”
The prelate said Duterte’s response to the crisis was “wishy-washy” compared to other countries in the region.
Bishop Bastes said the government’s “mishandling of the situation” has brought the country to a recession and “extreme conditions.”
The prelate urged Duterte to “form a competent team” to lead the country to recovery in both health and economy.
The Philippine economy has shrunk 16.5 percent in the second quarter of this year as cases of the new coronavirus disease continued to surge.
The figure is the lowest quarterly growth that was recorded since 1981, bringing the country to a technical recession.
Experts said one of the reasons for the economic woes was the drop in remittances of overseas Filipino workers that fuel consumer spending.
In the first half of the year, remittances dropped 6.4 percent compared with the same period in 2019, according to the Central Bank of the Philippines.
Bishop Broderick Pabillo, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila, also hit Duterte’s “fixation” on the role of the armed forces in the pandemic response.
“We are not going anywhere with just the military. Quarantine alone will not bring down the infection with medical interventions,” said the prelate.
Bishop Felixberto Calang of the Philippine Independent Church said Duterte must “reconsider his option” and “deal with the problem as a health issue.”
“His overconfidence on the military to take the course of action rather than the health authorities undermines the capability of the health sector to address the crisis,” he said.
Bishop Calang urged the president to “get rid” of his present anti-COVID-19 task force and “replace it with medical experts who can boost the morale of those working to curb the pandemic.”
In his speech, Duterte warned that he might use the military to impose the lockdown if cases of the new coronavirus disease continue to rise.
“The military is not part of the governance yet in the matter of using force or at least intimidating you with soldiers,” he said.
“Far from it, we do not have that plan. But if you won’t learn your lesson — it’s a runaway contagion — I will be forced to use the military because we really lack police officers,” said the president.
On Aug. 10, the Philippines logged a record-high number of COVID-19 cases with 6,958 new infections, raising the national tally to 136,638.
