Philippine Government’s COVID-19 Response: Priorities Gone Elsewhere

Patricia Mae Javier Pabres, AT – STEM 124

Last January 30, 2020, a 38-year old woman from Wuhan was confirmed to be the first
case in the Philippines (World Health Organization, 2020). Then last October 15, 2020, the
Philippines ranked 20th out of 214 countries regarding the spiking COVID-19 cases worldwide
(Bueza, 2020). And as of this day, October 25, 4:00 P.M, the Philippines garnered a total of
370,028 cases with 6,997 deaths and 328,036 recoveries (ABS-CBN, 2020). To help flatten the
curve, government officials implemented programs and citizens followed safety protocols during
the 7-month quarantine. However, the cases continue to rise and citizens are blamed for being
“pasaway.” But with the government’s lousy COVID-19 efforts, they greatly contribute to the loss
of the Philippines.
One of the government’s main strategies to combat COVID-19 was a community
quarantine implemented last March 16, wherein schools and public establishments were closed
down to minimize physical interactions. Notably, it worked. It lessened the number of
transmissions (Magsambol, 2020), however, it left 4.6 million Filipinos jobless as of July (Lopez,
2020). Many of them were jeepney drivers who were forced to beg for spare change on the streets
since public transportation was banned as well. Instead of getting financial aid from government
officials, they were detained for 3 days because they did not observe social distancing (Lo, et al.,
2020). The government, however, prepared a budget of approximately Php 200 billion for the
Social Amelioration Program, wherein the money will go to low-income families who relied on
their work for money (Department of Budget and Management, 2020). Yet, not all beneficiaries
were reached with only 89% of the target population given financial aid (Lalu, 2020).
With the SAP distribution remaining uncomplete, people question how the government
uses its money in response to the COVID-19 situation. According to the Manila Bulletin, the
Philippines has a growing debt of Php 429 billion from several agencies like the World Bank
(Leyco, 2020), wherein Php 40.4 billion was spent as of July for the personal protective equipment
of frontliners (Aurelio, 2020) while a budget of Php 13 billion was allocated for the vaccine
(Cervantes, 2020). However, it was only 11% of the total budget. 50% of it went to tourism projects
like the Manila Bay beautification (Beltran, 2020), wherein Php 389 million was spent for the
white Dolomite sand (Marquez, 2020). Moreover, it seemed that the government prioritized armed
forces more since a budget of Php 209.1 billion will be spent on equipment and military services
(Grevatt, et al., 2020).
Since military services were given a budget greater than the medical sector, the government
infused armed forces in their COVID-19 efforts. According to Rappler, military men brought
necessary laboratory tools and equipment along with thousands of boxes of PPE from India and
China (Gotinga, 2020). Moreover, they assisted in transporting essential workers to their respective
workplaces in government buses and trucks (Mangosing, 2020). However, their role in maintaining
the peace among citizens was not fulfilled. Although they served as logistics in conducting contact
tracing, their strategies were similar in the country’s anti-drug campaign, wherein they visit homes
without a warrant to show (Robertson, 2020). In addition, they highly used force in the
implementation of stricter quarantine protocols with the President’s orders of “shooting them
dead” when their lives are at stake (Capatides, 2020). Thus, they arrested and inflicted abuse on
quarantine violators like protesters, teenagers, and the retired Army veteran whom they shot dead
(CNN Philippines, 2020).
 It has been more than 7 months since the government has taken control over the virus with
nationwide community quarantines and wrong prioritizations, wherein they funded military troops
and unnecessary tourism projects in the midst of a crippling pandemic. This left the medical sector
to drop with insufficient facilities and working staff when they could have reallocated the budget
from other projects to the COVID-19 response. Also, instead of arresting violators, they should
have sent them home and gave masks to those who had none. Furthermore, they could have used
the Php 389 billion to provide financial relief to jobless residents with approximately Php 3,000.00
to Php 5,000.00 per family or planted mangroves instead at a cheaper cost (ABS-CBN, 2020). Yet,
they continue to violate human rights and belittle COVID-19.

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