President Biden revokes trump's healthcare insurance proclamation

On May 14, 2021, President Biden issued an executive proclamation that revokes Presidential Proclamation 9945 issued on October 4, 2019 by then President Trump which suspended the entry of immigrants who would financially burden the US healthcare system. This Trump edict was viewed to be causing irreparable harm on thousands of immigrants who would be permanently separated from their families as this order sought to limit one's entry to the US on the basis of wealth, health, or status. As I have written here during the time this was issued, I viewed this as being unfair, unconstitutional, and unjust as immigrants simply could not comply the proof that they have health insurance coverage in the US. Mr. Biden has rightfully taken this move as it provides a huge and collective sigh of relief within the immigrant community.

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The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has recently issued a guidance that rescinds masking and social distancing guidelines for fully-vaccinated Americans. Citing studies that show vaccinated people are highly unlikely to catch or transmit coronavirus and that vaccines are highly effective in preventing symptomatic illness, the CDC's latest advice signals that the US has already controlled this pandemic to a very manageable level that even if there are still risks of transmission, those new cases will not be exceedingly infectious and fatal. Still, it is up to the individual states to heed this directive or not, but the way it looks, states will have no choice but to adapt this guideline albeit some modifications. New York, for example has expressed its unwillingness to follow the CDC guidelines and will conduct its own review by the state's health experts.

Which brings me to my next point. Now that the US has already determined that it is winning the war against COVID-19 because of its vigorous vaccination efforts, when will it start vaccinating its own citizens who live and work in other countries and do not have access to these vaccines like those who are physically present in the US? I know so many US citizens living in the Philippines who are very anxious to know if the US government has plans to vaccinate them here in the country. I understand the huge logistics headache in bringing Pfizer or Moderna or even Johnson & Johnson to be shipped and stored in another country, but there must be some means by which these US citizens who, by the way, also pay taxes to the US, can have access to these life-saving shots. Some, through no fault of their own, are stuck in countries that either do not have resources to mount a massive and widespread vaccination campaign or are too slow in their vaccination effort. It is unthinkable that the richest country on earth can leave its own citizens at the mercy of these countries.

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During the 2016 presidential election, there was a collective angst over then candidate Duterte's campaign pronouncements that he prefers to deal with China bilaterally and that he does not consider it as a threat. In fact, when he became president, he even announced during his visit in Beijing that the Philippines is separating from the United States and has realigned with China along with Russia, in their ideological flow. It seems like these statements have come back to hound him and based from what we heard from him before, we should not act like we are surprised at all.

These past few weeks, the president has caused some self-inflected political wounds over his administration's conflicting policies on the West Philippine Sea. Even his own Foreign Affairs Secretary has contradicted the president's pronouncements and there seems to be a disconnect between Malacanang's spokesman and those of the president's officials. Based on his utterances during the Beijing visit, there would be so much personal amor propio to be lost. But what about the country? What remains to be the case is that as long as Mr. Duterte remains the president, he is the sole architect of the country's foreign policy. Much to the consternation of his critics on his handling the China matter, well, really like fine china, we live and die with it. We deserve the leaders we choose to govern us. There are only two things that can happen, one of which is nearly impossible while the other one is still debatable. Impeachment or electing a completely and diametrically-opposed new president in 2022.