[This editorial was published on The Red Chronicles Volume 13, Issue 2, AY 2019-2020]
Chaos ensued when the current COVID-19 pandemic broke out months ago. The world was caught off-guard. Millions were infected and thousands have lost their lives. No country was spared from this invisible enemy. Health authorities and governments had to act fast, so as to minimize the spread of the virus. Massive campaigns of exercising regular hygienic practices, enforcing quarantine protocols, and community testing were made. A public health issue, to be solved in a public health approach.
Our country’s approach seems to be a bit different. In the onset of the pandemic early this year, various groups have called for an early travel ban from the hotspot of the virus in Wuhan, China. A travel ban was indeed imposed, but it was not able to prevent the entry of the country’s first few cases and one eventual fatality. Next among the calls was to trace and test the potential immediate contacts of the said patients, but the response was not quick enough and the virus just crept slowly but surely among the populace.
In a true strongman fashion, President Duterte treated this current public health crisis as another “war”. Like the current war on drugs, the war against COVID-19 is being led by ex-military men – a de facto junta. The current Secretary of Health, who is expected to be on top of the situation, seems to be left on the sidelines- only heeding to the calls of the different medical societies after four months since the community quarantines were imposed in the country. Instead of sound health policies taking the lead, hordes of Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), 6×6 trucks, and olive fatigue-wearing men started marching down the streets imposing lockdowns – lockdowns that would only be effective in containing the virus if proper health measures are implemented.
Our health system is unprepared for this war. Even before the current pandemic, we were already facing outbreaks of measles and polio – viral and highly contagious diseases that were already contained years before. Years of underfunding and our current inefficient health policies have inadvertently led to the private sector being thrusted with the responsibility to fend for themselves, as well as provide for others, were just some of the writings on the wall. Now, our healthcare facilities are overwhelmed, with our healthcare professionals and front liners succumbing to the disease brought about by the virus. These could have easily been prevented if they were provided with proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and potential cases were tested, traced and isolated earlier. These same healthcare workers are overworked and underpaid. Adding insult to injury, a massive corruption scandal involving the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation just blew up, with it bleeding billions of pesos that could have been used to cover the costs of running our healthcare facilities during this time.
The economy halted, millions lost their jobs, several businesses closed shop, workers got stranded, OFWs were repatriated. The class divide has never been more evident. Despite an ongoing crisis, the administration is hell-bent on enforcing its iron-fist style of governance, contenting itself in locking up quarantine violators in facilities that are more conducive for the spread of the virus. Drumming up the “pasaway” narrative to cover-up the incompetence of the current policies, this alleged lack of discipline in adhering to the rules and regulations provided for has been debunked by location data released by tech companies such as Apple and Google, which showed that Filipinos mostly stayed at home. In a survey released by YouGov in partnership with the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, it stated that 91% of Filipinos wear masks outside their homes. Meanwhile, virus-carrying VIPs roam around the metro, police-generals celebrate lavish parties, and they do not even get a slap on the wrist.
The current leadership could not even get its priorities straight. Instead of focusing on handling the pandemic, it turned it into a perfect opportunity to silence its critics. People who are jobless and hungry crying for help are locked up in prison cells. Human rights advocates are murdered in cold-blood. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are stifled in the guise of “following the law”, while the same rule of law that they flaunt has been blatantly disregarded.
This current pandemic just made the “sick man of Asia” only sicker. Incompetence and unsatisfactory governance has reared its ugly head further. Our new normal should be dealt with compassion, respect of law, and basic human decency- something that our country’s leadership gravely lacks.◾