Angel Locsin counters Duterte's 'small thing' COVID-19 remark

Actress-philanthropist Angel Locsin disagreed with President Rodrigo Duterte's statement downplaying the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing its significant impact on Filipinos.

Locsin responded to Duterte's remark that COVID-19 was a "small thing" by saying, "Maybe to you, sir. But for us it is a big deal."

She highlighted the "large debt," "large increase in cases," and "large human rights violations" as reasons for her concern.

The President's quote, from a March 15 briefing, urged citizens not to despair and stated that they had overcome more serious challenges.

As of March 18, 2021, the Philippines recorded 4,387 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total active cases to over 60,000.

The country's outstanding debt had reached P10.33 trillion by January 2021, partly due to the pandemic response.

As of May 18, the Philippines has reported 635,698 COVID-19 cases, 12,866 of whom died while 561,099 recovered.