United front

While Italy, France, Spain, United Kingdom (UK), and other European states are reportedly experiencing a second wave of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, our government officials believe the Philippines will not suffer the same resurgence of this deadly contagion. Such optimism comes despite the Philippines became the 18th country with the most number of COVID-19 cases out of 189 countries and regions all over the world, according to the monitoring of the John Hopkins Hospital.

The John Hopkins experts in global public health, infectious diseases and emergency preparedness have been at the forefront of the international response to COVID-19. As of today, Spain, France and UK are ranked No.7, 10, and 12, respectively, in terms of COVID-19 cases and deaths. In the same list of top 20 countries, the US remains No.1 with the highest number of COVID-19 confirmed cases of over 7.8 million and deaths reached 215,910.

From the same tally, the Philippines has a total of 346,536 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 6,449 deaths. The Philippines is sandwiched by Italy on 17th rank while Indonesia at the 19th slot. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completes the top 20 countries with the highest COVID-19 cases.

But there is no reason to worry.

National Task Force (NTF) official spokesman retired general Restituto Padilla gave these public reassurances in our zoom webinar Kapihan sa Manila Bay last Wednesday. Padilla shared his optimistic views based on the results and outcome of the anti-COVID-19 pandemic responses and preparations being done here by the government.

For the past seven months since the outbreak started here in our country last January, Padilla noted, the various lockdowns and community quarantine measures enabled the government to build up and improve its capacity and capability to address the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, Padilla cited, the first two phases of the government’s National Action Plan (NAP) have apparently been able to keep in check the first wave of COVID-19 contagion in the Philippines.

Since this is a “novel” coronavirus, he pointed out, the Philippines and the rest of the world were not prepared how to deal with this new pandemic disease. So learning from this experience, he explained, the NTF crafted the NAP following the strategy: prevent, detect, isolate, treat and recover, or PDITR, to control and contain the spread of the COVID-19 contagion in our country.

Combined with the lessons learned on how the contagion spread out and the “best practices” against COVID-19, he admitted, the Phases 1 and 2 of the NAP were formed. Padilla cited, the Philippine government is now at the stage of implementing Phase 3 of the NAP pursuing the same strategic campaign against COVID-19 pandemic but with refinements to gradually open up the Philippine economy.

Padilla credited the strategic actions against COVID-19 pandemic by the various government agencies under the umbrella of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) and the NTF as its implementing body. While the IATF is the policy-making body that recommends anti-COVID measures to the President, the NTF was the body created to plan out and implement the government’s responses on the local transmissions here of the pandemic.

President Duterte designated Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles as co-chairpersons of the IATF. On the other hand, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año are the co-chairpersons of the NTF. As the chief implementer of the NTF, President Duterte named retired general Carlito Galvez Jr. who is concurrently the Secretary of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

Galvez was supposed to guest in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay but he got summoned to appear before the “special sessions” at the House of Representatives to defend the OPAPP budget for next year. This was after the Speakership row ended last Monday resulting to the recall of the proposed 2021 General Appropriations Bill (GAB). The budget bill was previously approved on second reading but was returned to plenary debate at the Lower House.

Nonetheless, Galvez sent Padilla, his “mistah” at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1985, to appear in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay on his behalf as the official spokesman of the NTF. A retired two-star Air Force General, Padilla also once served as official spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) while Galvez later became the AFP chief of staff under the administration of President Duterte.

“No more trade-offs in COVID-19 response,” Padilla quoted Galvez. The Chief Implementer declared this when he presented the NAP Phase 3 last week at the “Laging Handa” daily public briefing aired by government-owned PTV-4. While the IATF-NTF put public health as a top priority, Galvez justified the need for the government’s balancing efforts to jumpstart the Philippine economy.

This is why, Padilla disclosed, President Duterte approved a number of IATF-NTF recommendations aimed at gradually re-opening the country’s economy. Like other COVID-impacted countries, the Philippine economy shrunk due to closure of borders to protect the lives of the people. These less restrictive measures, he noted, will be implemented without unduly risking the lives of Filipinos.

This included the one-seat apart in all public transport vehicles but must strictly comply with minimum health protocols, and the shortening of curfew, Padilla added, to allow more establishments more time to do business.

While the COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health threat, Padilla echoed the battle cry of the government “to heal as one, recover as one.” To achieve this, the spokesman of the NTF reiterated the appeal of the government for united front by quoting the popular motto: “In unity, there is strength.”

We could not agree more and adding my own take: In immunity, there is strength, once there is already vaccine against COVID-19 infection.