EDITORIAL - Duque takes it back…again

Just hours after announcing that the Philippines has “flattened the curve” of COVID-19 infections, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III took back his words.

“We have successfully flattened the curve since April, and the metrics that we are saying arriving at that conclusion is actually the case doubling time, and also the mortality doubling time has gotten longer and is now in the moderate risk classification,” Duque earlier said during the Pre-State of the Nation Address virtual press conference.

But hours later, Duque took back his words saying that we have merely “bent the curve”.

“Lumiko ‘yung curve dahil nga bumaba ang ating mga kaso after tayong nag-impose ng lockdown,” Duque said.

Flattening the curve means infections have been slowed to a rate that is manageable by the local or national health systems. Bending the curve means transmissions of the virus have been reduced to the point that there is no more sudden and large spike of infections.

We only have to look at our hospitals to know we haven’t flattened any curves.

His backpedaling is no longer a surprise for many Filipinos who have come to take whatever Duque says with a grain of salt.

Perhaps Duque should take time confirm the data behind his announcements before making them. This isn’t the first time he said something only to correct himself later on. It is also not his first blunder in handling the pandemic here.

Last May, Duque announced that we were already in the second wave of COVID-19 infections. However, he later went back on this statement saying the country was still in the "first major wave of sustained community transmission.”

All of us make mistakes. And, yes, Duque can and should be forgiven for committing his share of them. However, he must understand that a man in his position cannot afford to make too many of them, and that too many mistakes --or premature erroneous announcements-- will erode his credibility over time.

And he is in such a crucial position in a critical period of our history.

In this time of chaos and confusion, not to mention fear and worry, any false news or statements about COVID-19 only serves to further muddle up the situation. This goes double for statements that have the tendency to make people relax or lower their guard against the virus.