07 the catalysts

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Illustration by Jed Gocatek

Editorial

Pandemic
of the
Working-
Class
On December 23, 2021, Gwyneth Chua went to a
Christmas party — a day after her return from the
United States — completely disregarding the re-
quired two-week quarantine for people going into
the country. It would have been another footnote to
the ever-growing list of people who manage to get
away with policy violations, if not for her testing
­positive and (allegedly) spreading COVID days later.

Chua was fetched by her father
shortly after checking into the
Berjaya Makati Hotel, going com-
pletely unnoticed by the hotel staff.
Based on the information gathered
from the investigations done after
the incident, she was able to escape
community quarantine through
her “connections”, allowing her to
attend a party in Makati.
This incident has highlighted the
gap between the rich and the poor
which was already visible amidst
this pandemic. It shows how proto-
cols can be easily bent to the will of
those who have power, authority,
or connections.
the Makati Medical Center (MMC)
even though he had tested posi-
tive for COVID-19. This incident
clearly shows a breach of quaran-
tine protocols, however, the DOJ
says otherwise.
Another infamous case is that
of Debold Sinas, the ex-chief of
the PNP. He also attended a party
during the early days of the pan-
demic. Quarantine rules and regu-
lations were already in place and he
chose to ignore it, making the risk
of catching the virus very probable.
Likewise, working class people
have also violated guidelines, but
with entirely different motiva-
tine protocols — was suddenly not
applicable for Senator Pimintel, or
for Sinas, and if the administration
doesn’t play their cards right, it will
When people be in Gwyneth Chua’s case as well.
When people break the rules for
break the rules the sake of survival and get easily
for the sake of punished, it just goes to show how
much power people with authority
survival and get have over the justice system of the
Philippines. Normal people are al-
easily punished, ways haunted by these protocols
it just goes to and laws, but those with power
easily brush them off.
show how much
REBALANCING THE SCALES
power people The Republic Act 11332 is not
fines on their offenses. With this,
panic may set in and many peo-
ple ignore the implemented quar-
antine protocols in their area for
their necessity.
The IATF implements stricter
protocols on OFWs and tourists
making the Chua case more val-
id for having a heavier offense
while the Pimentel case was light-
er. However, the RA 11332 was
broad in terms of Section 9 which
confused the DOJ and the lawyers
alike that it became hard to argue
whether Pimentel broke guidelines
or if he followed it correctly.
The question remains: how can

WHIMS OVER NECESSITY

It’s extremely frustrating for
everyone to see issues like these
become common in our country.
Netizens have always demanded
accountability and proper imple-
mentation of penalties to no effect.
A notable example of this early
in the pandemic is when Senator
Pimentel accompanied his wife to
the catalysts
The Official Publication of the
Online Journalism Press Conference
VOLUME I ISSUE 2 · January 2022
tions. Everyone was affected by the
­pandemic, especially these people;
with authority the only main factor on the differ-
ences of the weight of the crimes
we mitigate these types of cases
from occurring once more? The
they broke these rules not for the have over the committed; the IATF and their government can start by at least
pursuit of entertainment but rather ever-changing rulings of quaran- updating RA 11332’s definition
for survival. justice system of tine must also be considered. With of “non-cooperation”. Better yet
While the working class are con-
stantly warned to follow strict pro-
the Philippines. short notice of rule changes and
the unpredictable nature of the
— pass a law that specifically cov-
ers such events from reoccurring
tocols, this was certainly not the virus, it is hard to keep up with ev- by being stricter around medical
case for people with power. R.A. erything. This causes confusion on agencies and health institutions.
11332 — a law that was used to keep which locations are on lockdown, Monitoring and implementations
people from violating the quaran- which protocols to follow, and the of mandatory quarantine should be
stricter from those that came from a
trip either overseas or locally since
Jed Gocatek News Writers: France Art Basia, Vicente Mate the spread of the disease would
Editor-in-Chief Feature Writers: Chesca Machan, Mariel Ruedas, James Regondola be more confined inside a plane, a
Janis Thea Tusaneza
Contributors: Grace Llamelo, Brenn Aisley Cabanayan, Gavianne Sommer Viar, ship, or any ­transportation that can
Precious Anne Ladanan, Airah Mei Amate, Danilyn Maturan, Julius Jose Borjal,
Associate Editor-In-Chief JV Mae Bachar, John Dave Pacheco carry multiple people.
When the justice system finally
Jan Michael Alcarmen regards everyone in equal light,
James Cipriaso Photojournalists: Luwel Antiquera, Trisha Villamer, Adrian Mendoza
then we can eventually stop the
Managing Editors Cartoonists: Reylan Barrera, John Marlou J. Bales, Precious Rose P. Patriarca
abuse of power and start closing
Jan Ortiz
Feature Editor
Copyeditors: Aliyahmae Albores, Angel Ann Doregios, Aldrian Marino
Layout Artist: Jed Gocatek
the gap between the rich and the
poor. With the pandemic putting
James Lawrence Banaag
Science Editor the poor at more disadvantage,
David Sean Mercado Sheryl S. Verdadero this type of injustice must not add
Sports Editor Adviser more to that.