By Deighton Acuin

PHOTO: Philippine Daily Inquirer

The critics of the Duterte administration are praying for the failure of its coronavirus vaccination drive to have a greater chance to win in the upcoming national elections, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque claimed Monday.

“Ngayon po ay nagdadasal nga sila na ‘wag tayo maging matagumpay dito sa vaccine rollout para sila ang manalo. ‘Wag naman po ganoon,” Roque said in a media briefing.

“Kinakailangan bilang Pilipino, kapit-bisig po tayo. Ipagdasal po natin na kahit sila ay oposisyon, magtagumpay ang ating vaccine deployment,” he added.

Roque made the statement after the 1Sambayan, a coalition aiming for a unified opposition slate in the 2022 polls, said their candidates are still having hesitancies to run.

Moreover, Roque said if the vaccination drive comes into success, the administration bets will have advantages in the 2022 elections.

He added the administration’s win will be attributed to the pandemic and how the current government “successfully” handled it.

“It will really depend on doon sa (on the) vaccine rollout,” he said.

“Nakita nila na ginagawa na lahat ng gobyerno,” Roque furthered.

As of Monday, May 17, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,149,925 total coronavirus cases including 54,235 active cases, 1,076,428 recoveries, and 19,262 deaths.

Meanwhile, 3,001,875 Filipinos have already been vaccinated against the infectious disease, according to the data from National Task Force against COVID-19.


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