MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Secretary Francisco Duque of the Philippines’ Department of Health received flak this week after he told legislators the country is now on the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement during a Senate hearing, Duque said the first wave happened in January when the first three cases of Covid-19 among three Chinese nationals were confirmed.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque quickly dismissed the Health Secretary’s claim, saying it was Duque’s interpretation of the data.

But the Health Secretary stood his ground, releasing a graph to prove his claim. It showed a timeline and numbers from when the country recorded its first cases to the time it reached a peak to the present time which he described a “flattening of the curve.”

(Graph: CTTO)