First off, let’s settle the irritating play of words or semantics. Which term is best to use? “Community quarantine” or lockdown?
Take a quick look at the photo above and think clearly and critically. I think and talk straight, unlike perhaps many. If menacing-looking and rifle-toting soldiers and/or policement are manning checkpoints to keep people in or out, this to me is clearly a forcible lockdown. Not simply an innocuous-sounding or crazy-sounding term like “community quarantine.”
“But it’s for the good of everyone amid the spine-tingling global mystery killer Coronavirus or Covid-19!” . . . . Fine, fine, fine . . . No argument or quarrel over this. Of course, there are lots of good and merits in a lockdown — like what was done in Wuhan, China, France and other Covid-19-affected as areas around the world.
But this controversial lockdown raises a series of highly-disturbing questions which senior government officials need to address and respond to . . . lest their public service commitment is seriously questioned.
Mind you, my intention for raising the following questions is not to criticize just for the sake of doing so. More importantly, I’d like to draw attention to problematic issues over the Metro Manila lockdown, and hopefully, prompt relevant government authorities to address these problems and come up with appropriate solutions. So here goes my questions:
1] Why were no checks done on hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of people who fled to the provinces ahead of the Metro Manila lockdown which took effect from 8pm tonight, March 15?
2] How many of those who fled Metro Manila ahead of the lockdown were unknown or unwitting carriers of the Coronavirus?
3] If there were unwitting Coronavirus carriers among those who fled to provinces outside Metro Manila, to what extent will they infect their immediate family members, relatives, neighbors and other people in their hometowns?
4] Will we see soon a sudden explosion of Coronavirus infections in different provinces? Is this the next frightening phase of the Coronavirus crisis in the Philippines?
5] Why didn’t the Metro Manila lockdown officials or planners anticipate or foresee the flight to the provinces of unwitting virus carriers?
7] Why didn’t these officials foresee or anticipate the bigger or more serious problems that the abrupt lockdown will create? Aren’t they among the BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST that President Duterte used to brag about and aren’t they paid enough to render the best public services all the time?
8] If there’s a sudden explosion of Coronavirus infections in the provinces, how can public health workers cope if they lack face masks and other essential equipment and other resources?
9] The P10 billion public health budget cut — why doesn’t the executive branch of the government restore this budget cut to bolster the Covid-19 fight?
10] Why hasn’t the government done anything to help the poor overcome Covid-19-induced-hardships, especially temporary income loss? Why not tap rich government institutions, like Land Bank, to draw up and roll out sooner than later bureaucratic-free, quick-release grants and/or livelihood soft loans? A case in point is this: in 2019 alone — just one year — Land Bank must have made a net profit of about P20 billion. If the government truly and genuinely cares for the poor and the needy, why not direct Land Bank to earmark P1 to P2 billion for modest grants or very soft loans to the poorest of the poor?
11] Lastly, since overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are only as good when employed abroad, displaced or laid-off OFWs clearly need financial aid even to meet temporary cash crunches. More to the point, why can’t the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) come up with a practical, quick-release, non-bureaucratic grants or soft loans program far friendlier and far more superior than its excessively bureaucratic Balik Pinas Balik Hanapbuhay scheme?
Why did I merely enumerate questions in this blog instead of discussing the different points that I raised? First, this blog is long enough. And second — which is more to the point: The use of plain and simple common sense or even simple logic will enable anyone or everyone who reads this blog to figure out clearly and easily the most precise and effective answers to these questions.
NOTE: For feedback, you can scribble your comments below this blog or email me at jchk94@yahoo.com
OFWs in Hong Kong 