Former senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV had a heated exchange with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddy” Locsin Jr. on Twitter over the national government’s plans to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
The former lawmaker on Thursday morning asked the government for a “plan” amid the worsening public health crisis and the recession-hit economy after almost six months of community quarantine.
“WE DEMAND A PLAN! Malala na ang pandemic, lugmok pa ang ekonomiya. ‘Di na pwede ang once-a-week bolahan/katangahan na ginagawa niyo. Bwisit na!” Trillanes tweeted.
His tweet has earned more than 3,900 likes and more than 700 retweets.
Among those who noticed the tweet of Trillanes was Locsin, who is known to be an active Twitter user.
The top diplomat responded to his post and said that the government has a plan, only “it is in English.”
“What dialect would you like?” Locsin quipped.
“Oh, so your plan is in English. That’s probably the reason why your stupid boss can’t understand it,” Trillanes retorted.
The exchange has been documented by some Twitter users who were entertained by it.
In case you missed it, there was a barbecue. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/IBJCypVpFF
— Miss Maggie (@MiaMagdalena) August 27, 2020
This was not the first time that the two had a word war on the microblogging platform.
Last year, Locsin lauded President Rodrigo Duterte who slammed Trillanes for his “War on Drugs” campaign that has resulted in extrajudicial killings.
RELATED: Teddy Locsin and Antonio Trillanes in Twitter word war over illegal drugs
Meanwhile, the latest tweet of Trillanes about the government’s supposed lack of plan came two days after the latest national address of Duterte was aired on television.
In his speech, the chief executive vowed to go after corrupt officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and assured the public that all of the government’s expenditures for COVID-19 would be accounted for.
He also dismissed the renewed calls of a group for a revolutionary government despite meeting with them after he was sworn to the presidency.
Duterte likewise reiterated his remark that the poorest of the poor will be the foremost priority in receiving a vaccine against COVID-19, as well as the uniformed personnel of the country.
Initiatives
Last Monday, the Palace highlighted the implementation of the Coordinated Operations to Defeat Pandemic or CODE protocol and the operation of the One Hospital Command as parts of the government’s strategy to defeat COVID-19.
One of the objectives of the CODE protocol is to eliminate clusters of COVID-19 cases in identified areas through house-to-house visits for symptoms assessment and swab testing those with symptoms, among others.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the CODE Teams have completed the initial house-to-house visits in identified priority local government units (LGU) on Metro Manila, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan.
She added that a total of 1,334 households were visited in 17 priority LGUs in the NCR, six barangays in Laguna, and four LGUs each in Rizal, Cavite, and Bulacan.
Of the number of households visited, Vergeire said that all of the discovered 1,500 confirmed cases and some 10,000 close contacts who were traced were placed under quarantine or isolation in designated facilities and temporary treatment and management facilities.
The One Hospital Command, meanwhile, acts as a health facility referral system that connects patients to available quarantine facilities and hospitals.
The center has received some 1,813 calls and some of its 1,131 cases have been resolved.
