World’s Longest Lockdown Frustrations
The Philippines, despite being a comparably small country, is host to a world record we did not think we would hold — the world’s longest lockdown, accompanied by having the highest number of COVID-19 active cases and the lowest recovery rate in the Southeast Asian Region. While the government says that these unfortunate events are caused by the disobedience of the common people, data shows that they are incompetent, incapable of looking at scientific data, instead blaming their failure to contain COVID-19 on politics and the people — ironic since they were the ones calling for the differences in politics to be set aside.
In fact, according to the data provided by tech giant Google, mobility data from those who were in the Luzon-wide lockdown dropped by 90%, with movements in residential households upping by 43%. Despite this, however, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte still blames the common populace. When he explained why Cebu City remains on a Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) — an oddity since every other city and province were either in General Community Quarantine (GCQ) or Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ), he blamed the Cebuanos for being ‘complacent’.
Let us also not forget his spokesperson, Harry Roque. Like Duterte, Roque also puts the blame on the continuous spike of COVID-19 cases on the people. In one instance, he celebrated how the Philippines beat the University of the Philippines (UP)’s COVID-19 forecast in June 30, saying that the country was at 36,438 cases, almost 3,500 cases lower than UP’s forecast of reaching 40,000 cases by the end of June. However, he spoke too soon because by the next month, our COVID-19 cases surpassed that of UP prediction, with our cases almost at 85,000. From that, it tells me that Roque ignores the importance of these UP predictions — these data are supposed to accompany the government’s pandemic response, not feed their egos. These data should dictate what the government is supposed to do, not otherwise.
From those instances, it tells me that Duterte remains ignorant to scientific data provided by experts in the field, instead relying on the military — which are not health experts — to keep the peace. I remember when this all began, when people were calling for a more ‘medical’ solution and not a ‘military solution’ in the movement #SolusyongMedikalHindiMilitar, I asked myself what they meant. However, as the lockdown stretched on, I got what they were saying — and they were right.
They keep failing to see the importance of a COVID-19 pandemic plan, which, even after the State of the Nation Address (SONA), we have still yet to see from them. Instead, Duterte dabbled in the Batasang Pambansa with how ‘he’s waiting for his best friend China to give them the vaccine’ or how ‘he’s a victim of the Lopezes’ because that is exactly what Filipinos need right now, not a COVID-19 recovery plan. Furthermore, with events such as the passage of the Anti-Terror Law and a not surprisingly lax attitude towards the Philippine National Police (PNP), it tells me that he will keep relying on the military, not health experts — which is honestly a mistake, as shown by the data.
In fact, I could tell that the Filipinos are getting tired of this drama. According to a poll by YouGov, 51% of Filipinos believed that the government was doing ‘somewhat well’ in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, down from 71%. According to YouGov, this is one of the largest drops in public confidence, along with Indonesia and Sweden.
Even I am, too. While I appreciate their continuous reassurance that we will eventually get through this, it does not mean that they have an excuse to ignore the data provided to them by experts. They must listen to their data, especially now that our health system, according to the World Health Organization, is at risk of overcrowding with our continuous spike of COVID-19 cases. These data are supposed to accompany them with their response, not feed their egos.
If this continues till August, then it is no longer the people’s fault for not wanting to be in the world’s longest lockdown.
REFERENCES:
https://www.philstar.com/.../govt-said-filipinos-are...
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/too-complacent-duterte-blames...
https://mb.com.ph/.../we-beat-up-prediction-says-roque.../
https://rappler.com/.../full-text-duterte-sona-speech-2020
https://www.onenews.ph/phl-now-second-to-china-with-more...
https://www.onenews.ph/experts-palace-filipinos-not...
