Pandemic showing our most ugly side

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) describes social cohesion as “the glue that bonds society together, essential for achieving peace, democracy and equitable development.” This “glue” is made up of four key components; 1.) Social Relationships, 2.) Connectedness, 3.) Orientation towards the common good and 4.) Equality.

This came to mind as I listened to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s 2021 National Day Rally speech the other day. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed every nation’s weakness in social cohesiveness, and Singapore was no exception.

Contrary to general perception, COVID-19 response was not a runaway success for Singapore. It too was exposed by COVID-19 for where its weakness as a society lay. Of the four components of social cohesion, Singapore excelled in social relationships, connectedness, and orientation towards the common good. Where it came short was in equality.

Just when Singapore had the virus infection quickly under control last year, clusters of infection were developing in communities of low-wage foreign workers. Hundreds of new migrant worker cases were being discovered each day, in what the BBC News described as “perfect conditions for the virus to spread” – in crowded dorms and packed vans that transport workers. These workers that built the shimmering city, otherwise invisible in the eyes of Singaporean society, exposed its “pandemic of inequality.”

But then Singapore quickly moved to improve the living conditions of migrant workers. It then ramped up its vaccination program where most of the population readily came forward to get jabbed. Today, 80% of the population in Singapore is fully vaccinated. The country is now preparing for COVID-19 to become an endemic disease, like the flu or common cold which does not exhaust the entire health system.

How about the Philippines, how did we fare in this COVID-19 test? There were pockets of success in some communities in the country. The community pantries, for example, come to mind. But in general, COVID-19 exposed our country’s very ugly side.

I put the blame directly on our leaders, and indirectly on our people who voted them into power or allowed them to stay there. Of the four components of social cohesion, let me take up just one – orientation towards the common good.

It is not surprising that we are bombarded with reports today about mismanagement of billions of funds for pandemic response and glaring irregularities in the procurement of medicines and personal protective equipment. If we can say that COVID-19 cases of hospitalizations and deaths have become closer to home, how many of us can also say that corruption by those who are taking advantage of this pandemic has become closer to home too? Not a few, I guess.

So many public officials, some we even personally know, are either dishonest to themselves and to the people – preferring good optics over the truth – or are outrightly corrupt, or both, that “orientation towards the common good” is far from their vocabulary.

Their actions are instead oriented toward keeping up appearances, toward protecting the shady sources of their continued hold on power, and toward prioritizing the interest of their clans and allies over the common good.

This while an estimated 8.7 million Filipinos had lost their jobs this year because of the pandemic. This while small businesses are folding up, and while almost two-thirds of firms periodically suspend business activity or cut operations by half every time there is a surge of COVID-19 cases. This while fatigued and demoralized medical frontliners are not getting paid their full benefits, and hospitals are swamped with people dying or trying to get proper medical attention.