Press Release
August 30, 2020

On remarks that Covid in PH not from Chinese tourists
Nancy asks DOH: Why do you have to twist, change facts?
...says statement only means govt failed in contact tracing

Senator Nancy Binay today berated the Department of Health for twisting facts and sowing misinformation about Covid and how it started spreading in the country.

The senator reminded the DOH that in January, two Chinese tourists from Wuhan City were positively identified as the first carriers of the novel coronavirus in the Philippines.

"Seryoso?! So, di pala sa turistang Chinese galing ang Covid sa Pilipinas. But would the DOH be willing to explain to us kung sino ang nagdala at kung paano nakalusot ang Covid sa atin? By saying na 'di sapat ang ebidensya na galing sa Chinese tourists' ang Covid is practically admitting that they are a failure in contact tracing--which explains why they failed to stem the spread of the virus--and continue to be so," Binay pointed out.

She called on the DOH to stop twisting facts to appease other people or countries.

"The very reason why the Covid issue remains unresolved ay dahil mas pinapagulo pa lalo ng DOH ang sitwasyon. Kaya di natin mabigyan ng lunas ang problema dahil kailangan pagtakpan muna o tapalan kahit meron namang solusyon," Binay noted.

The senator said the DOH should get their act together and stop making remarks that are careless, irresponsible and prone to wholesale misinterpretations.

"When politics coopts with public health, the facts are made to change, and the responses also change--kaya laging di nagtutugma ang solusyon sa problema, and the people are made to embrace a capital mistake," Binay said, adding that by "allowing those in the bureaucracy to change and twist facts about public health to suit a narrative only exposes the country to greater risks."

In January, Binay called on the DOH and other government agencies to ban entry of tourists from China, and to prepare an emergency response plan and ensure that the government is fully equipped to address a possible outbreak of a mysterious respiratory disease from China.

"It's so hard to understand why until now the DOH would downplay things specially when it comes to China. Kaya tayo nasa sitwasyong ito ngayon ay dahil di pinakinggan ng DOH yung rekomendasyong i-ban ang pagpasok ng mga Chinese nationals noong January pa lang. Yung ibang bansa nasa pagpaplano na ng sistema sa distribution ng bakuna, samantalang tayo di pa nakakausad sa lockdown at contact tracing," she said.

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