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What Is Bogging Down The Philippines
What Is Bogging Down The Philippines
Philippines’ COVID-19
Response?
A handful of senators urged Duterte to dismiss
Health Secretary Duque and the country’s top
economist resigned, citing differences in
development philosophy.
By Mong Palatino
But as more cases of infection continue to be reported, the authorities have hinted at
the possibility of a prolonged lockdown beyond April 30 in a bid to flatten the
coronavirus curve.
“When the orchestra is not well-orchestrated, then you have a little problem,”
Pernia said, referring to the lack of consensus in implementing COVID-19 measures.
The Senate resolution against the key official leading the fight against the pandemic
and the resignation of the country’s chief economist at a time when the government is
struggling to deliver emergency aid to the poor reflect rising dissatisfaction over
Duterte’s leadership in confronting the pandemic.
The senators directed their frustration against Duque, but they should know that the
health secretary was simply following directives from the president. The senators
questioned why Duque was late in advising a travel ban against China, his failure to
ensure an adequate supply of protective equipment for frontline workers, his
reluctance in conducting mass testing and the establishment of testing laboratories,
and his lack of transparency about COVID-19 cases in the country. Duque is indeed
responsible for all of these issues, but the president should share the blame too. After
all, it was Duterte who rejected the proposed travel ban, repeatedly belittled the
seriousness of COVID-19, urged Filipinos to go out and travel around the country,
and failed to provide the public with accurate and comprehensive information about
the pandemic and the government’s response.
The senators are either refusing to start a war of words with the executive branch by
omitting the accountability of the president or they are simply maneuvering to put
blame for the government’s ineffective COVID-19 response on Duque alone.
Instead of carefully explaining the government’s health and social relief strategy,
Duterte has been more consistent in attacking the opposition, the Left, and
“disobedient” local officials. He threatened to impose a martial law-type lockdown in
order to enforce quarantine protocols. This announcement naturally garnered criticism
since it seeks to silence, harass, and detain those who are merely asking for food and
urgent relief. It revived memories of the country’s martial law era in the 1970s, when
an authoritarian government brutally suppressed the opposition and all dissenting
voices.
The next two weeks are therefore crucial for the Duterte government to convince the
people that its approach is correct in curbing the rise of infections while providing the
medical and basic needs of the people. But if Duterte’s notorious anti-drug strategy is
adopted as a model, it could mean an intensive and massive deployment of police and
military troops in communities not just to implement quarantine rules but impose
rigorous control of the local population. This scenario is what many human rights
advocates would like to avoid, but it seems Duterte’s team is already gearing for a
total lockdown approach in fighting COVID-19.
https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/what-is-bogging-down-the-philippines-covid-19-response/