Transcript of Senator Nancy Binay's interview on ANC's 'Matters of Fact'
(hosted by Christian Esguerra)

Christian Esguerra (Q): Now this call for Duque's resignation... You've made this with several of your colleagues much earlier. What do you make of the president's refusal to sack the health secretary given the perceived or actual inadequacies coming from the health department?

Sen. Nancy Binay-Angeles (SNBA): Siguro, I share the same sentiment with Sen. Ping Lacson na it can be very frustrating kasi nakita naman natin na mukhang hindi talaga kaya ni Sec. Duque itong problema natin sa COVID. For me Christian, when we had that first hearing in senate with regards to COVID-19, it was already a red flag doon sa capability ni Sec. Duque. Kung matatandaan natin during that hearing, noong first case pa lang natin ng COVID, doon lumabas na wala palang ginagawang contact tracing. For me that was the first sign. And then nagkaroon kami ng isa pang hearing at doon lumabas na kaya pala mababa yung cases natin sa Pilipinas during that time, I believe this was in late February or early March e kasi wala pala tayong testing kits. In terms of testing capabilities kulang na kulang pala tayo during that time. Nakaka-frustrate--but at the end of the day, it is the call of the President whether to let go of Sec. Duque. But maybe it is high time for the secretary to do some soul searching if he really can't do the job. Baka kelangan sa kanya na manggaling.

Q: Ang argument kasi ng presidente is that hindi naman daw si Sec. Duque ang nagdala ng COVID-19 sa Pilipinas, and I think another question is this: How will the resignation of Secretary Duque help improve things if not solve many of the problems?

SNBA: Unang-una, napaka-crucial ng position ng head of Department of Health and that is the position of Duque. Kumbaga, siya yung alter-ego of the president pagdating sa kung papaano tayo mananalo pagdating dito sa laban natin sa COVID--and so far he is not doing the right job in solving this problem.

Q: Pero, di ba tingin niyo, much of the blame should also be on the President because Number 1: he was the one who put him there, and; Number 2, if you look at the dynamics within the IATF, it seems that there are certain limitations on the part of the health secretary especially given the very strong personality and leadership style of the president.

SNBA: Well, baka isa pa yan sa weakness ni Sec. Duque. Kumbaga, kulang yung convincing power niya with the president in giving suggestions on how we can solve this COVID-19 problem. Baka that is also part of the problem na parang hindi masyadong nakikinig sa kanya si Presidente.

Q: Which is of course a problem because when we are dealing with a health crisis, a pandemic, it should be a health expert on top di ba?

SNBA: Well, isa iyon sa requirements na kailangang kailangan natin talaga.

Q: Anong tingin nyo dito sa response from the president to this distress call coming from our medical frontliners? Of course to be fair to the president, he basically acceded to the appeal of the medical societies. But aside from that, he decided to castigate, berate the medical frontliners claiming they were calling for a revolution, and Number 2, for airing their grievances on a webinar in public and according to Malacanang, the president was the last to know. What do you think of this response coming from the president at this time?

SNBA: Unang-una, I welcome the move. Kahit hindi ECQ I think win-win compromise itong MECQ. For that, I welcome this move by the President. Pero pagdating nga doon sa pag-castigate niya sa healthworkers natin, sana lang wag natin tignan na kaaway sila. And I think doon din papasok si Sec. Duque because he has the ear of the president. If he was able to explain it properly, baka the President wouldn't get that impression na yung mga healthworkers natin are staging a revolution.

Q: Pero hindi ba kapag binasa naman yung letter maliwanag naman doon na walang mention of any revolution?

SNBA: Well Christian, you are assuming that the President read the letter. Baka may nagsabi lang sa kanya ng content ng letter.

Q: Which could be worse kasi if you are going to react that vehemently, that passionately against our medical frontliners, tired and overworked as they are, at the very least, the leader should have read the appeal.

SNBA: Yeah. But we don't know e. I am not privy to how things are done inside the President's cabinet. But you know at the end of the day for me, our healthworkers do not deserve that kind of lashing. Moving forward, we have to move on. We have two weeks. We have a two-week window where we can correct things and hopefully, sana, yung IATF would constantly be in touch with our health workers, with our doctors para tuloy tuloy ang pag-uusap nila, ang dialogue nila on how we can find the solution to the problem.

Q: Do you agree with the assessment of the medical frontliners natin that we are waging a losing battle against COVID-19 and that we need a consolidated and definitive plan of action?

SNBA: Ako I agree with our medical frontliners. Kami sa Senado we've been asking for a plan. Ako, I've been asking for a plan. Unang-una Christian, wala tayong communication plan on how we can teach our people what to do. For example, ikaw Christian, kapag nagkaroon ka ng symptoms ng COVID, would you know how to get a swab test? And kung wala kang pambayad sa swab test, would you know what number to call, where to go to get free swab test.

Q: And basically, ano ang protocols pag nagkaroon ka ng symptoms. Where do you go?

SNBA: Yes, walang ganoon. And pag nag-postive ka, who do you inform? Ako, based from my experience, ha. Mayroon akong kakilalang mga nag-positive. Sinabihan nila ang barangay nila, ang sagot sa kanila ng barangay nila, "I'm sorry, hindi namin, wala kaming lugar na pagdadalhan sa inyo para puwede kayong mag-quarantine." And then there's this COVID-positive patient na in limbo. Tapos, hindi niya alam kung papaano niya poprotektahan ang pamilya niya na kasama niya sa bahay So, iyong mga ganoong detalye, tingin ko may pagkukulang. At doon iyon natin dapat tutukan during this two-week period.

Q: Iyong binabanggit po ninyo, baka specific to one local government or barangay which was not that responsive, for example? (due to establishment by DILG of barangay epidemiology teams)

SNBA: Pero, unang-una, itong sinasabi kong cases, Metro Manila na ito, ha. 'Di ba dapat, I think dito sa Metro Manila, 100 percent, all barangays would know what to do? Like for example, dito nga sa LGU na kinukuwento ko, puno na ang quarantine facility ng LGU. And then, parang iyon na. Hindi na nila alam kung ano ang next phase: do they call a national hotline number para ang national government would take over and kumbaga magiging responsibilidad na nila itong COVID-positive patient? Mga ganoong detalye, not everybody knows what to do.

Q: What else should government do during two-week window provided by MECQ?

SNBA: Ako nga, unang-una, we need to have a very comprehensive communication plan. Number 1, mayroon namang basic health protocols wherein we can avoid the virus. For example, washing of hands. But iyon na nga isang problema, Christian, eh--washing of hands... Saan tayo magwa-wash ng hands? Wala namang makikita tayong washing stations. So maybe that's another project that the IATF can do, to set up more handwashing stations. Baka sa mga public markets mayroon tayong ganyang facility. And then, when it comes to face masks, baka kailangan, the government could procure and give away free face masks. In fact ako, ang target ko by December, I want to give away 100,000 face masks, lalong lalo na doon sa mga backliners--mga jeepney drivers, mga nagtitinda ng balut, buko, iyong mga ganoong mga kababayan natin who belong to the informal sector. Isa iyon sa puwede nating gawin. And then iyon nga, iyong making it known, iyong steps. Kunwari, what-to-do, baka we need to do an information campaign na hindi lang online, ha, because hindi naman lahat may online presence. For example, baka puwedeng katulad ng ginagawa namin kapag nagka-kampanya kami tuwing eleksyon. Baka kailangan mayroon tayong umiikot na jeep na may (trompa) na sinasabi, "Ito ang hotline number, kapag may nararamdaman kayo ito ang tatawagan n'yo." I think we need to do something like that, eh.

Q: What else should government focus on during two-week window?

SNBA: Hopefully. Sana. We're praying it would be enough. Kasi nga, katulad doon sa sinabi ni Congresswoman Quimbo that we are losing P12 billion a day dito sa two-week MECQ. So we need to balance iyong need to earn for a living and to prevent na magkaroon tayo ng virus. So I think during this two-week period, iyon na nga, eh, una, let us strengthen our contact tracing (capabilities). Iyon din, eh. Ang laki ng pagkukulang pagdating doon sa contact tracing. Siguro balikan ko na lang itong kinukuwento ko na nag-COVID-positive. Dito siya nag-test sa Makati, so technically Makati patient siya. Pero, talagang nakatira siya sa Cavite. So papaano ang ganoong coordination? So babalik na naman tayo, maybe we need to set up a hotline number or call center para may ganoong sistema. Unang-una kailangan natin talaga ng paggamit ng technology na mas madali ang magiging madali ang trabaho ng contact tracing.

Q: Do you still get the sense that the government is in control and on the right track, and how do you view the petition by Change.Org to declare the President unfit to discharge his duties because of the way the president has been dealing with this crisis?

SNBA: Unang-una, my appeal is: This is not the right time na magaway-away tayo. We should focus all our resources and energy in fighting the virus, because for me, iyon talaga ang Number 1 natin na dapat awayin--itong COVID-19. We all need to do our part, this is not just, it's not just government. It's all of us. Kumbaga, we need to learn how to live with this virus dahil sa tingin ko matagal pa iyang vaccine and for me that is not just the solution to this problem. We need to do our part, eh, and I think doon mahalaga ang role ng government, dahil siya ang magsasabi kung ano ang dapat nating gawin, kung ano ang kailangan nating gawin. And at the moment, doon ko nakikita na may malaking pagkukulang ang pamahalaan.