Palace defends PH COVID-19 response against Robredo's propaganda claim

Vice President Leni Robredo criticized the government for using its COVID-19 response as propaganda rather than addressing issues.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque denied this claim, stating that data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows the Philippines ranks 32nd globally in terms of caseload and 134th in cases per million population.

Robredo's camp responded by pointing out independent assessments like those from the Australian Lowy Institute and the Economist Intelligence Unit, which rank the Philippines lower in pandemic response effectiveness and vaccination rollout.

Roque urged critics to trust WHO data and accused them of being blind and deaf to the government’s efforts.