MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) on Thursday, May 21, slammed Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion over his remark that doctors are “all talk, no actions.”

“We invite the good gentleman to a guided tour of the medical facilities, especially CoVid-19 referral hospitals, ‘para makita niya ang ginagawa ng mga doctors at frontliners (so he could see what doctors and frontliners are doing),’” the PMA said in a statement. 

On Wednesday, May 20, Concepcion strongly reacted to the statement of medical groups, led by the PMA, that antibody rapid test kits on returning workers would be a “waste of resources.”

“Ang problema nitong mga doctor, salita nang salita, wala namang ginagawa; complain nang complain. Ang mangyayari dito, magsasarado ulit ekonomiya ng Pilipinas, maraming mawawalan ng trabaho,” Concepcion said.

(The problem with these doctors is that all they do is talk but don’t to anything; they just complain and complain. What will happen is that the economy will close again and more people will lose jobs.)

The PMA detailed its response to Concepcion:

1. No materials were released by our medical societies without due study and research;

2. Pronouncements were vetted and discussed extensively by topnotch specialists in their field of endeavor;

3. The medical societies race against time to find the management protocols to the uncertainties of this disease so as to save the most number of patients, especially our very own members;

4. These are unchartered waters; yet source material for study has been rich because most of the globally prominent data banks have opened themselves up, all to assist in this war;

5. Most importantly, we are not purveyors of fake news. 

The PMA said that they “make recommendations based on reliable and accurate information, guidelines, and research materials that our members have worked on over the last few months.”

“If the good gentleman is unable to present indisputable data that Rapid Antibody Test is the correct modality for testing, why resort to such sweeping a statement. There is more to the science of Clinical and Epidemiological testing than ranting ignominiously,” the PMA said.

Apology made, accepted

Concepcion later clarified what he said in a separate statement Wednesday. He said that his remarks were not meant to criticize doctors in general, and apologized if it came off that way.

“I apologize if my words were perceived to criticize doctors in general. I hope we will be united in our efforts. With this, I extend my deepest thanks to all frontliners that continue to go beyond the call of duty for our people. We can and we will heal as one,” he said. 

Concepcion cited the need to save both lives and the Philippine economy, and increasing the country’s testing capacity would help achieve this as envisioned by Project Ark.

“This virus has brought a devastating blow to the physical and financial health of our nation. And we must work together to save both. We are at war with a common enemy and need to use everything in our arsenal to fight it,” he said.

“Under the circumstances, there is no way but to accept the apology,” Tinio told CNN Philippines’ The Source.

The PMA accepted Concepcion’s apology on Friday. In an interview with CNN on, PMA spokesman Oscar Tinio said, “Under the circumstances, there is no way but to accept the apology.”

Tinio said everyone should unite in winning the war against COVID-19. – Rappler.com