The SARS CoV-2 detection kit was developed by a group of 15 scientists from the Philippine Genome Center and the University of the Philippines Manila's National Institutes of Health. Photo by JILSON TIU/CNN Philippines resident Rodrigo Duterte's speech last Thursday will be remembered more for what it didn't mention, than for what it did. In his televised announcement of a Metro Manila-wide quarantine to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Duterte made a point of profusely thanking Chinese President Xi Jin Ping for his offer of assistance. What Duterte ultimately failed to do was to recognize the tens of thousands of Filipino health workers, and public and private citizens, who are at the forefront of the battle against this global pandemic. They are the ones who deserve the praise and recognition of the president. According to CNN, "a team of scientists from the Philippine Genome Center and the University of the Philippines Manila's National Institutes of Health, developed the GenAmplify COVID-19 Detection Kit, which is currently being used to test for the virus." The president should have recognized this significant Filipino achievement in his speech. Instead, the president chose to praise Xi for his offer of help. From the perspective of some Filipinos, it is only right that China help. After all, it was some of their citizens with unusual eating preferences, and their government's exceedingly slow initial response, that appear to have caused this pandemic in the first place. Not only should China help, but they should also reimburse Filipinos for all the costs incurred in treating this virus. However, Duterte is keenly aware that he needs to be in Xi's good graces if he wants to stay in power. With America, Europe, the United Nations, and possibly even Australia (when it passes its version of the Global Magnitsky Act), closing their doors to him, his world is getting significantly smaller, and his allies fewer and far between. Published 3/14/2020