Editorial
The unrestrained spread of COVID-19 across various parts of the country and the insufficient resources needed by our healthcare system to combat the epidemic are clear manifestations of the national government’s lack of political action to handle a public health crisis. As the true leaders of this sovereign, the people have every right to demand greater political action.
Since the outbreak, the Department of Health has recorded 2,311 positive cases, 96 deaths, and 50 recoveries. However, only 4,344 tests were conducted out of a population of 109 million Filipinos due to the incredibly limited supply of imported test kits. Meanwhile, cost-efficient test kits created by scientists from the University of the Philippines took two to three weeks of government validation before being reproduced on a mass scale.
Shortage of medical facilities, manpower, and paraphernalia such as personal protective equipment (PPE) hindered frontliners from being able to swiftly address the problem. Even the Philippine General Hospital, supposedly the country’s premier tertiary hospital does not have enough rooms to house patients and Persons Under Investigation or Monitoring (PUIs/PUMs). Government sanctioned quarantine centers could not be considered viable options since most of them are not furnished with basic necessities such as a continuous water supply and suitable sleeping quarters among others.
State repression runs rampant as uniformed personnel roam the streets to promote “peace and order”, equipped with funds to purchase firearms and the unbounded power to arrest anyone caught disobeying preventive measures. Duterte’s unbridled support for the AFP-PNP over health workers speaks volumes of the government’s priority.
While PUIs and PUMs die without ever knowing their condition, high-ranking government officials receive special treatment. Senator Koko Pimentel’s actions serve as an example that despite having the “courtesy” of being tested, he had chosen to endanger the lives of the people he was in contact with as well as crippling the service arm of a Makati hospital. To a greater extent, the DOH’s usage of the term “courtesy” reinforces that there is a political hierarchy that we must adhere to even in calamities and life-and-death situations.
Furthermore, the passage of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act which grants extended powers to the President to utilize any means within his capacity to end the outbreak is pointless. Because even without the resolution, the President already has 13 billion pesos under the Contingency Fund and a National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund worth 16 billion pesos incorporated in the 2020 General Appropriations Act which he can use as he deems fit. In fact, there are already laws that are written for this very purpose — Republic Act 11332 known as the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act” and Republic Act 9271 or the “Quarantine Act of 2004”. The time and effort poured in drafting the resolution can ideally be used to strengthen relief efforts or hasten the delivery of medical aid.
In addition to the nature of the crisis, it is also a source of economic plight. The enhanced community quarantine compromised the livelihood of Filipinos based in Metro Manila and adjoining provinces. The instructions of the government for private corporations and government offices to release the overtime pay, hazard pay, 13-month pay, and the salary for this month earlier than usual only benefits those with white-collar jobs while manual labor workers and jobs without tenure are left to fend for themselves.
It is in times like this that we can assess the competency of our government. Have they done enough? Have they consciously fulfilled their mandates to the best of their ability? Well, the overwhelming number of instances where the government could have reversed the current situation by improving national response to the COVID crisis or instating pre-mitigation measures and their present position dictates otherwise.
Therefore, we must take our side with the vast masses. To remain neutral and indifferent to social concerns is a disrespect to the frontliners who are risking their lives for public service, to the outbreak patients who have died while waiting for a cure, to the volunteers who are filling the void of governmental accountability, and to those who have religiously practiced social distancing, self — quarantine, and other medical measures within their capacity. To refuse to hold our government accountable for their actions and decisions is in effect enabling them to get away unscathed.
Our demands for mass testing, increased backing of the medical sector, and economic security should not fall on deaf ears. These are within our constitutional rights as the people, the true leaders of a democratic nation.
We demand political action now!
