Information paradox

Futures thinker James Naisbitt envisioned a shift from a post industrial society to one where information was the basic resource and major industry. His prescient thought, in his best seller Megatrends in 1982, enumerated coming political and economic trajectories: mutation from representative to participatory democracy (populism); erosion of hierarchies into more decentralized corporate structures (private sector) and into collaborative, networking solutions (public governance); the disintegration of unified society into “tribes”.

His is the information paradox:“we are drowning in information and starved for knowledge … uncontrolled and unorganized information is no longer a resource in an information society, instead it becomes the enemy.”

The last quote strikes a chord in this time of COVID-19 as fake and false news overwhelm us at warp speed on a daily basis; fact and fiction lines are blurred and even when the truth sits in front of us, we’re no longer astute enough to tell.

Tailoring tomorrow. Future trends like those of Naisbitt and even George Orwell whose dystopian, Big Brother novel 1984 was actually published in 1949, predict large scale, evolving movements seen in timeframes of decades. These scenarios greatly influenced anticipatory decision making and forward planning,  preparing governments to have the competencies to understand the challenges of change.

Horizon scanning allows for low probability, high impact events, whether referred to as wild cards, black or white swans, that would enhance capacity to adapt to surprises. The COVID-19 pandemic is one such phonomenon which, unfortunately, has disrupted the scenarios of even the most prepared.

Baby talk. If you’re familiar with these titles, well hello Boomer. Yes, its our generation brutally targetted by morbid millennial memes and catchphrases referencing the higher mortality rate among the ranks. Heard this one? COVID-19: Boomer Remover. Yet, even this now conventional wisdom is questioned by the latest reports that the younger demographic are getting increasingly affected; on possibly emphasizing another diagnostic strategy rather than focusing infection control on the lungs; and also the update that the malaria drugs so favored by US President Donald Trump have not proven effective.

To help distill/curate the information overload, I turn to my doctor classmates for clarity if it involves epidemiology; for understanding the science, Angela Merkel, a.k.a. the Chancellor of Germany with a PhD in Quantum Chemistry, is a rational and credible voice; the local counterpart in honest assessments of our economic situation is Congressman Joey Salceda.

What you don’t know won’t ...Re: the new medical reports, it appears that thrombosis/blood clots are being widely detected by doctors in Europe and the US in different organs of patients. Its not just in the lungs but also in the heart, brain, liver, kidneys, intestines. The data was hinted at in Hubei province but its consideration yielded to the initial assessments that Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome was the eventual cause. And there has been a surge in strokes even in younger COVID-19 positive patients.

The reason for the clotting has to be understood. If this were the new way to manage the disease, then the arsenal would be blood thinners and anti-inflammatory prescriptions more than the precious few ventilators and ICUs.

We wait to see how this new development impacts on our NTF response to the pandemic. Certainly, it does not make the disease any less virulent. But we need to know the honest truth. We don’t want to be starved of knowledge, specially in this time when we are drowning in information.

Illegitimate use of force. The quarantine power has been called “the most extreme use of government power over people who have committed no crime.” Pandemics prioritize the rights of the uninfected. What happened to Army Veteran, Corporal Winston Ragos (Ret.) in Barangay Pasong Putik, QC, though near a quarantine checkpoint, had nothing to do with protecting the public from an infected, dangerous person.

Basic Criminal Law provisions on the justifying circumstance of self defense and the PNP rules of engagement sets a very high bar before a police officer may be justified in discharging a firearm. (1) There must be aggression. The aggression must be both unlawful and imminent. The same must constitute an actual and real threat on his life. (2) The force used to repel the aggression must be reasonable. It must even be lesser than the provocation, if possible. Only at worst should it be commensurate.

In addition, the PNP observes policies of presumption of innocence and maximum tolerance. Specially so in this case where there were five armed policemen who converged on one man.

Cpl. Ragos reached for the content of his sling bag and was shot dead. Even if there were a gun in his bag (a question for investigators), and even had he pulled it, Supreme Court jurisprudence would not consider it a sufficient external act to warrant a kill shot (People vs Rubiso). There was no attempt to fire, much less to even point the weapon at the police officer. Even the sling bag itself, had a “gun” really been in the Corporal’s hand inside, was not pointed at the policeman. If the latter had to shoot, at point blank range it should have been to neutralize and not to kill. Isn’t this what they train for?

True love in the time of Quarantine. Without public transportation to reach her dialysis center during the ECQ, Loida Fernandez had to traverse almost 13.6 kilometers every other day, along the dangerous Commonwealth Avenue, by wheelchair powered only by her husband, Ernesto. But this has not affected her cheerful demeanor.

She is emblematic of the many collateral victims of the suspension of public transport. Mayor Vico Sotto had them in mind when he asked for an exemption of tricycles to ferry the old and infirm with no access. We’re happy that help has arrived in the form of a wheelchair, offers of hatid-sundo, and food assistance. Because ABS-CBN featured her story, barangays and LGUs in ECQ areas may take note and offer like relief to others similarly situated.