Wenceslao: Race continues

It’s good that Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has expressed a willingness to listen to the officials of the Inter-Agency Task Force or IATF regarding the imposed protocols especially in the airport to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the country. The governor knows we still are in a race considering the low number of vaccinated Filipinos and a surge of infections is still very much possible. This is the reason President Duterte has issued a directive for local government units like Cebu to follow the protocols. With a slow vaccination effort, a surge in infection is the last thing the Duterte administration wants.

We all know, judging from the India experience, how difficult it is to manage the new coronavirus variants. We want the easing of restrictions, but it must be done gradually. The reason for that can be taken from our elders’ usual admonition: “aron dili ta mapandol.” Haste makes waste. We need to acquire herd immunity from the virus first before going all out.

That will take months judging from the pace of our vaccination effort. So that in the meantime we need to be cautious. Arrogance has no place there, just like how Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte has become irritable with critics talking about the rise in the number of infections in her city.

Of course, that it was Vice President Leni Robredo and former senator Anronio Trillanes who were talking made Mayor Duterte’s response predictable. But as I said before, what we need to reach is a consensus on how to effectively battle the pandemic. Quarrels and verbal sparring could not help.

But the next election is just around the bend and the incumbents’ handling of the pandemic will surely figure in the discussion, aside from the issue on China. The incumbents do not want to end up being labelled as incompetents. And the opposition, having no hand in its handling, will alway strive to make the incumbents look bad.

What must have irritated the Davao City mayor was when Robredo, in her radio program, praised the handling by Cebu leaders of the pandemic, noting that Davao leaders could learn much from it. Duterte must have considered that an insult even if, as the VP’s spokesman noted, she meant well.

Sara, of course, had said she is not intending to run for President but warned Trillanes against angering her. One can read between the lines there. She could still run out of pique. And Sara could be a formidable candidate considering the surveys by reputable survey firms. President Duterte, though, is dissuading her from running, which is good.

Robredo, despite all the insults hurled at her and her low rating in surveys, is no slouch either. It was proven in 2016 that she can mount a nationwide campaign and win. I say she is the most qualified in the opposition ranks to run for President, especially after also-rans like Grace Poe and Nancy Binay are backing off. Robredo showed her creativity as far as serving her constituents is concerned even if she was deprived of support by the Duterte administration.