Lani Mercado sorry for ‘COVID-14’ mistake: ‘Tao lang po’

Bacoor Mayor Lani Mercado in her Facebook Live video where she accidentally said “COVID-14.” Image: Screengrab via Facebook/@LaniMercadoRevilla

Bacoor Mayor Lani Mercado apologized for her viral slip-up that referred to the novel coronavirus disease as “COVID-14.”

Mercado issued her apology in a Facebook Live video posted by her husband, Senator Bong Revilla, on her birthday yesterday, April 13.

https://www.facebook.com/bongrevillajrph/videos/528001101419968/?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARB5dOCUAoUE3PuUSv7c1BC8vpHaTnJL827TwaEWCvyHKiTI7bVgEc63g_y1fJr9OoopHn44-PmnkBNsMDRcONm0R0_oyZVQI292K0dUZ_N_XNdhPxfCmoGp8an80c8qszdHGv2ppHKlR1rLIjPbLkp6Fs-AwmSv5lkSdkfB1-ibWBlZzNObMqJjuhHY_TWOc6hF1RKewGgOtn-Y4EAKGqSJOCDOWi5x0OkV8RV0jrX5co-seodEsf1KFyJOHnFwUu5B7-PzYjdNhF21k2Zif2QHVfVoawBUGZ6oniOUdbEpqTIdHoTWGa5wQ6_aGIaAwD5ZTmzqa_ksZmUtiYhpvItP9y4vD-ap288&__tn__=-R

Revilla surprised her with a bouquet of sunflowers, calling her “the greatest gift of God to me and my children.” After she received it, Mercado addressed viewers about her mistake.

“Sa mga natuwa sa aking pagkakamali, ‘labanin ang COVID-14,’ sorry po talaga… Madami talagang iniisip pero sorry po sa mga nagalit, ‘wag na tayong magalit, tapos na ang Mahal na Araw,” she said. “Bawal magkamali pala ang alcalde. Tao lang po, pasensya na.”

(To those who were amused by my mistake “Let’s fight COVID-14,” I’m so sorry… [I was] thinking of a lot of things but sorry to those who got angry, don’t be angry, Holy Week just ended. Mayors apparently aren’t allowed to make mistakes. I’m only human, sorry.)

“Pero ginagawa talaga natin lahat na magagawa para malampasan natin ang mga pagsubok na ‘to. We all pray na sana mahanap na talaga ‘yong lunas ng COVID-19,” she said, emphasizing the name of the disease.

(But we are doing all we can to get through these challenges. We all pray that a cure will be found for COVID-19.)

Revilla also defended his wife: “Alam n’yo sa panahon na ‘to, talagang minsan hindi mo na alam ang gagawin mo para sa mga kababayan mo dahil kahit anong gawin mo, may pula’t may pula pa rin.”

(You know in this time, sometimes you do not know what to do for your constituents because whatever you do, there will always be criticism.)

“Pero ang importante ay gawin mo ano ang dapat para sa kanila. Sabi nga ni Mayora, nagkamali siya COVID-14, medyo nadulas lang siya no’n, nagkamali, nobody’s perfect. Lahat naman tayo nagkakamali,” he said.

(But what is important is you do what you should for them. As what Mayor said, she made a mistake with COVID-14, she slipped up, made a mistake, nobody’s perfect. All of us make mistakes.)

“Napaligaya naman niya ‘yong ibang tao. ‘Yon nga lang, naging katawa-tawa. Pero it’s OK,” he added.

(She brought joy to other people. The thing is, it was comical. But it’s OK.)

“I’m OK, I’m happy. Masaya po ako kahit binabash (I’m happy even if I get bashed),” Mercado said in the background.

“COVID-14” trended on Twitter locally after Mercado made the blooper on her Facebook Live April 7. The clip of her error was circulated, and though it amused some, others quipped that her husband had taken the missing 5.

https://twitter.com/__annechl/status/1247770937576964099

Revilla was charged with plunder in 2014 after being allegedly involved in a pork barrel scam. The actor-politician was accused of allocating P224 million from his pork barrel or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to bogus non-government organizations owned by Janet Lim-Napoles.  /ra

He was acquitted of plunder in December 2018.

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