Palace: Duterte quip of gov’t having no money meant to show challenges amid pandemic

Malacañang on Wednesday clarified President Rodrigo Duterte's comments given before Typhoon Odette victims last weekend about the government being in deep debt.

His comments were made to show Filipinos the huge challenge the country is facing, acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said.

"It was made in the context of informing people that we have a lot of challenges. We have spent so much for COVID-19 vaccines, then another challenge is [the devastation brought by] Odette," Nograles said.

"But we will always look for ways and means to address the concerns. The President just wants the people to understand that this is not an easy task, and we all have to help each other," he added.

Nograles assured the public that the government is on top of the situation.

"We have battled COVID-19, we have looked for and generated funds," he said.

"We will do everything we can to overcome this challenge and we will overcome this," he added.

Typhoon Odette hit the country amid the government's efforts to ramp up its COVID-19 vaccination efforts. As a result of Odette's wrath, COVID-19 vaccination has been postponed in around 600 areas.

The government is eyeing to fully vaccinate 54 million Filipinos against COVID-19 by year end, 77 million by March 2022 and 90 million by June 2022. — Llanesca T. Panti/RSJ, GMA News