Vice President Leni Robredo urged the netizens to stop criticizing the Chinese nationals who chose to stay in the Philippines amid the 2019-nCoV outbreak happening in China.
In her radio program “Biserbisyong Leni,” the Vice President said that the Filipinos should understand the situation of the Chinese people staying in the Philippines and avoid assuming that they’re all carrying a virus.
“Dapat nga mas sympathetic tayo du’n sa mga nandoon sa, kumbaga, in the line of fire, hindi ito laban sa mga tao nila (China), pero laban ito sa sakit na kumakalat ngayon. Kaya sana hindi naman ganoon ‘yung treatment natin, kasi hindi naman nila ‘yun kasalanan,” said Robredo.
According to her, it’s normal for the Filipinos to be careful. However, they should avoid treating Chinese visitors poorly.
“’Wag namang huhusgahan ‘yung lahat na mga Chinese citizens, ‘yung lahat na bumibisita dito sa atin… Tama na nag-iingat tayo, tama na temporarily suspended ‘yung mga flights. Pero ito po, walang iisang may kasalanan dito, kaya tayo, magtulungan,” she said. “[H]indi po nakakatulong ‘yung paghuhusga sa iba pang mga nakakasalamuha natin, kasi pare-pareho lang naman po tayo,” she said.
Robredo made the said statements after several social media posts circulated about Chinese people experiencing racism in the country amid the nCoV scare.
Some netizens claimed that they saw some Chinese nationals in the Philippines being severely affected by the comments of some Filipinos they encountered.
A few days ago, Robredo urged the government to impose a China-wide travel ban to prevent the nCoV from spreading around the country.
“Bawat minutong ipagpapabukas pa ang pag-aksyon sa mga rekomendasyong ito, lalong nailalagay sa panganib ang kapakanan at kalusugan ng ating mga mamamayan,” she said.