Photos of crocodiles that circulated online Wednesday were hair-raising. Online Wednesday were hair-raising. Captions stated that a faction of the ruling PDP-Laban convened swamp-side in Pampanga. Proclaimed was a Go-Duterte presidential-VP tandem for Election 2022. At once netizens peppered the event website with a differently punctuated post: “Go, Duterte, go away.”
A blog quoted President Duterte as “overwhelmed and feeling like crying” at his VP nomination. Readers reacted that crocodile tears are insincere expressions of remorse or sorrow.
The official party endorsement made Duterte fair game.
Rage was palpable. So reviled was Duterte’s repeated justification of his admin’s purchase of pricey pandemic paraphernalia from a Chinese trader-friend. There was no public bidding for the P10-billion deal, senators have exposed.
That foreigner is a presidential economic adviser. His Pharmally Corp. was only eight months old; undercapitalized at P625,000; with no office, experience and import permit when granted 16,000 times its worth in May 2020. Two partners were figutives wanted in Taiwan for embezzlement and stock fraud.
The Duterte-appointed purchasing officer allegedly eased Filipino suppliers out of the government transaction. A Philippine Air Force plane had to fetch the private cargo from China, Senator Panfilo Lacson said, although the National Task Force Against COVID-19 head denied it.
Nearly 35,000 have died of COVID-19, 151,000 infectees are suffering in hospitals and homes and last year 27 million lost livelihoods. Yet certain admin officials and pals apparently profited from the health crisis.
Netizens labeled as “diversionary” Duterte’s ad hominem attacks against the investigating senators. The President insulted Lacson’s hair and Richard Gordon’s girth, like his past references to Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s briefs and law dean-critic Chel Diokno’s teeth. Along with Senator Imee Marcos, Duterte alleged, they are all just politicking since election time is near. Bloggers found “shallow” his alibi to unconstitutionally run for VP – that is, to be able to advise and help the next admin if needed. He can do that even if out of office, they riposted.
Rediscovered and shared was the court’s mental health assessment in 1998 in annulling Duterte’s marriage. As reported in The Independent of London, he had “antisocial narcissistic personality disorder.” In addition, “gross indifference, insensitivity and self-centeredness.” Also, “grandiose sense of self-entitlement and manipulative behaviours.” Plus, “pervasive tendency to demean, humiliate others and violate their rights and feelings,” and “unable to reflect on the consequences of his actions.” More: “unhealthy and destructive behaviors,” “poor capacity for objective judgment, “[failing to] see things in the light of facts.” In conclusion, “psychologically incapacitated… due to inability for loyalty and commitment [and] lack of capacity for remorse and guilt.”
On the sidelines, Duterte’s spokesman mimicked him in demeaning outsiders. At the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, he cut off and yelled at two private doctors who were presenting situationers. The IATF had invited the two as convenors of 54 medical societies under Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19.
The societies represent half a million physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses. Days prior, HPAAC proposed four actions: digitized, interconnected contact tracing; linking local governments and hospitals with the One Hospital Command Center; safety of Filipino workers and release of health care workers’ benefits and allowances.
At the IATF, the two HPAAC convenor-doctors reiterated that they didn’t wish to be misconstrued as picking a fight. Fatigue was setting in and can overwhelm hospitals, they worried. Whereupon, the spokesman argued why doctors thought they were the only ones tired when government officials too needed to catch some sleep.
The spokesman also belittled as political gimmickry Mayor Moreno’s request to increase procurements of COVID-19 medicines instead of face shields. The World Health Organization does not even prescribe face shields, from which Pharmally profited nearly P300 million. That was too close for comfort for the defensive spokesman who, incidentally, is politicking for senator in 2022.
Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying
Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying
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