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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-9/caric-robredo-sm.webp" alt="Leni Robredo" />
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(A likeness of Leni Robredo)
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What was palpable was that she talked as if the campaign season is on and she had ceased being a member of the government.


She noted that even if it was right to allow extra passengers on a public conveyance, more should be done, such as mandating service contracting instead of the boundary system.


Robredo blamed the boundary system for some drivers to violate the distancing rules to accommodate more people, while at the same time issuing a warning to the Department of Transportation (DoTr) that the decision to reduce the distancing rules should have been based on science.


The titular head of the yellow mob was nitpicking her way through the program as she then turned to what she claimed as proof that many coronavirus disease victims were never admitted in hospitals.

She cited data from the Department of Health (DoH), which accordingly bared that only 275, or about 26 percent, of the 1,048 critical COVID-19 cases received treatment from hospitals, as of 11 September.


Then she extrapolated that 773 critical coronavirus cases were not admitted and that 149 of 702 severe COVID-19 cases were not confined in hospitals.


Robredo's underlying goal remains to drive the point that the government does not have a concrete program in the battle against the contagion.


Had she been attentive to her colleagues in government, or if she did her homework in reviewing the almost half a year of the pandemic, the eager successor will not miss the measured steps taken to balance the health requirements to fend off the virus and in sustaining the economy.


The recent measure to reduce the spacing between commuters was the product of a long and serious review, which according to DoTr officials involved the comparison of experiences of other nations faced with the same dilemma of having a precise program in opening the economy while managing contamination.



The debate which continues up to now is whether the distancing requirement should be left untouched, since the rate of infection remains high, or ease the daily ordeal of workers who have to contend with limited public transport.


DoTr Undersecretary Timothy Batan said among the steps taken by transport officials in arriving at the compressed distancing rule were consultations with medical experts, simulation activities and a survey of international practices.


In the studies conducted, it was found that the Philippines was the last country to ease the one-meter distancing protocol inside mass transport, particularly in trains.


The measures that Robredo was suggesting are already part of the ongoing program of government, except for the change in the employment setup among jeepneys, which is an issue that should be addressed by drivers and operators.

Robredo talked as if the campaign season is on and she had ceased being a member of the government