ASSESSMENT 3: TERM PAPER

Miranda, Kara Allysa A. The Contemporary World

BSMA 1 - 6 Prof. Gil Mari Santero

Students will be tasked to write a critical paper that addresses the contemporary
condition of the Philippines by applying both the economic relations and the status of the
country on battling the COVID-19 Pandemic. How has the world economy and the global
pandemic influence the state of the Philippines’ economy?

Creative Thinking: Situate one (1) of the Philippines contemporary (social/ political/
economic) issues. Assess and outline the root cause of this problem and create a
new regionalism. Propose the ideal countries to have an alliance with, in line with the
chosen problem. Justify how this created alliance will resolve the chosen problem. This
policy report should consist of not more than 1,500 words.

Introduction

The Philippines became the most affected country in Southeast Asia when COVID-19
ravaged the world in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic caused fear as the number of people
infected has unexpectedly and continuously increased to a large number up to this day. The
Philippine government has proclaimed that, in reaction to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, they
had the foresight to impose a lockdown in major cities and provinces as early as March 16
("Fighting COVID-19 in the Philippines", 2020). However, the Philippine government's overall
response to the pandemic has been riddled with incompetence and fraught with fear.

First, the global issue is a public health concern. Safety is the utmost concern in this
occurrence. Therefore, the battle for this pandemic demands a proper and top-tier medical
solution. However, President Rodrigo Duterte has addressed the coronavirus pandemic in a
strikingly militaristic way. Domestic public health system was not prioritized despite having great
medical professionals. Instead, the government strengthen the military power forcing militaries
and security forces to take in action. He also perpetuated the false narrative of "undisciplined"
citizens as liable for the consequent difficulties after the lockdown went into effect. During the
pandemic, utter and complete negligence from those in control has been witnessed, which poses
a problem for the Philippines.

Massive compliance with the ECQ is mandated for all community members. This has
included curfews, certain fines for being outdoors, and a marginalized population among many
places resulting to famine. Truthfully, this is one effective way to avoid the transmission of the
virus, and with fewer areas and people involved, the virus would be much easier to eradicate.
However, it puts the underprivileged citizens of the country in danger. COVID-19 has put the
country into depression. Albert et al. (2020) estimated that unemployment increased to 17.7
percent within the first quarter of 2020, but this eased to 10 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively,
in the second and third quarters. The Philippines is a third-world country. Thus, it could not ensure
the livelihood of every low-income family in the country. People may not die from the virus, but to
hunger. This is what people fear more than the virus. Undeniably, our government does not have
enough capacity to cater the Filipinos' needs when it comes to providing livelihood and proper
healthcare and safety during this kind of situation.

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 Root Cause of the Problem

The implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was followed by

severe incompetence, including the authorities' inability to keep up with neighboring countries'
protective measures while massively underestimating the virus. While other Asian countries like
Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Hongkong immediately responded to travel restrictions and
emergency measures, the Philippines was unfortunately late to follow. The president ordered a
travel ban just after having the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the country. The late
implementation of the lockdown itself seems to have contributed to a myriad of problems.
because they have overlooked the primary issue at hand, which is maintaining public health and
safety.

Social distancing and lockdown measures are not very complicated in the Philippines
(Beltran, 2020). Protocols for contact tracing have not been developed, as well as testing and
managing. The response in COVID-19 reflects the government’s competence and governance.
Leadership, transparency, and legitimacy are major criteria in understanding the successful
response of the state. The entire nation is looking forward to going back to normal life. Still, the
government's approach in dealing with the virus is making it worst with its ignorance influenced
by militarism.

New Regionalism

In order to reduce the spread of the pandemic and decrease morbidity and mortality, good
governance is required to boost government response efforts, as well as to ensure protection and
assistance for the people living in abject poverty. Therefore, strategies for intervention must be
interdependent. The complexities indicate that a new regionalism needs to be developed by
creating an alliance with countries with the same goal as our country. In order to successfully
combat the public health emergency, a prospective ally country must have the same priorities of
mobilizing its resources, advising policymakers and allies that the most vulnerable should be able
to access health facilities and programs in a non-discriminatory way, including migrants, asylum
seekers, stateless and internally displaced citizens.

The medical problem is a global issue that must be resolved through unity and
coordination. Future endeavors must be ready to join the Philippine government is aiming to
reinforce the emergence of the citizens and to be better equipped to mitigate potential
emergencies, especially those of the marginalized sectors. Incorporating the effect of COVID-19
into the planning of incremental impact initiatives that facilitate collective empowerment, help
foster sustainable co-existence, and strengthen the stability of the people living in extreme poverty
communities is essential for this established alliance.

Ideal Countries to Have an Alliance With

In line with the problem stated, the ideal countries to have an alliance with are New
Zealand and Taiwan. These countries have shown their exceptional and significant expertise in
their response with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. They demonstrated their actions in the
fields of public health measures, sustainability and finance, and in policies aimed at combatting
the public health issue with a blend of economic stimulus measures, life-saving assistance,
community-level health awareness, and scientific and medical response which would benefit the
Philippines if these countries were to be an ally of our government.

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 In trying to halt the coronavirus pandemic, Taiwan demonstrated its effectiveness by
adapting the learnings from its SARS experience in 2003 and developed a framework for public
health response to allow swift action in the next crisis. In order to resolve the emerging pandemic,
well-trained and professional teams of authorities were able to identify the situation and implement
emergency response mechanisms. Moreover, they provide a world-class health care system. As
coronavirus news started to surface from Wuhan, officials at the National Health Command
Center (NHCC) in Taiwan acted rapidly to respond to the potential threat (Griffiths, 2020). In the
first five weeks of the emergence of the virus, they immediately developed and introduced a list
of at least 124 policy recommendations in order to safeguard public health. Their strategies and
actions went beyond the reach of boundaries, and later on, they were able to combat the virus
and return to their normal lives.

Likewise, New Zealand has immensely benefitted from being an independent country with
an innovative health infrastructure and a strong economy. They have been working together to
restrict and deter COVID-19 on their shores and to help other countries in the region. The
Government of New Zealand was motivated by public health supervision and emerging facts at
every response stage. In the latest pandemic, the techniques were precious and have stood the
test of time well. According to an article entitled "New Zealand Takes Early and Hard Action to
Tackle COVID-19" (2020), New Zealand recognizes the significant role of WHO because it plays
a significant role in case detection and response policies, laboratory capability, prevention and
management of infection, and risk assessment and analysis. Moreover, thy genuinely value their
global and regional leadership; they also are very open in sharing information to the public on
how the country is responding to the COVID-19. Speedy testing, contact tracing, and isolation
while adhering to the public health guidance is the country's strategy to fight this pandemic.

Through this alliance, it is anticipated that these countries will actively support all initiatives
directed solely in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. This alliance will be a
collaborative effort where the health safety and financial security of those who are part of the
marginalized sector will be accomplished together and will benefit from plenty of frameworks
being introduced not just in the strategy formulation system but also in industry civil society. This
includes providing marginalized populations with essential relief items, hygiene kits, and personal
protective equipment and supporting medical professionals in their response, ensuring the
continuity of direct assistance to refugees and asylum seekers in the midst of the pandemic,
conducting awareness-raising sessions, and distributing localized COVID-19 information
materials which center on respiratory symptoms and signs, infection prevention information,
solidifying the data integration capabilities of government organizations to maintain stability in
refugee status determination procedures, crisis intervention, and also investigating and pose
significant protection risks for the minorities amid the global pandemic.

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 References

Albert, J., Wuthnow, J., Yao, Y., Blanchette, J., Gammon, L., Suy, H., . . . *, N. (2020, December
30). Were the Philippines' COVID-19 responses sufficient? Retrieved February 20, 2021,
from https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2020/12/23/were-the-philippines-covid-19-responses-
sufficient/

Beltran, M. (2020, May 26). The Philippines' Pandemic Response: A Tragedy of Errors.
Retrieved February 20, 2021, from https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/the-philippines-
pandemic-response-a-tragedy-of-errors/

Fighting COVID-19 in the Philippines. (2020, November 03). Retrieved February 20, 2021, from
https://www.rti.org/impact/covid-19-philippines

Griffiths, J. (2020, April 05). Taiwan's coronavirus response is among the best globally.
Retrieved February 20, 2021, from https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/04/asia/taiwan-
coronavirus-response-who-intl-hnk/index.html

Impact Report: COVID-19 Response in the Philippines - Philippines. (2020). Retrieved February
20, 2021, from https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/impact-report-covid-19-response-
philippines

New Zealand takes early and hard action to tackle COVID-19. (2020). Retrieved February 20,
2021, from https://www.who.int/westernpacific/news/feature-stories/detail/new-zealand-
takes-early-and-hard-action-to-tackle-covid-19

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