Test then tell

There is now a growing sentiment that health authorities should be a little more circumspect about COVID-19 pronouncements lest they continue to fuel fear and anxiety among Filipinos. In particular, the feedback I’ve been getting has to do with DOH announcements about people “having signs and symptoms of the COVID-19 virus”. The prevailing sentiment is that DOH officials should first test Patients Under Investigation, do their double confirmation and then AND ONLY THEN should they make the announcement IF a patient tested positive for COVID-19.

Based on the numerous explanations of DOH officials, the basis for saying that a person has signs and symptoms of COVID-19 is a combination of circumstances and less on clinical science. If you have traveled to a COVID-19 hotspot recently or came into contact with a confirmed carrier of the virus and have a cough and a sore throat, you just hit the coronavirus bingo without the benefit of a laboratory test! Unfortunately, the Philippines does not have on-the-spot testing and confirmation capabilities. The problem with the protocol is that many Filipinos continue to travel and upon their return, end up with a cough or sore throat not due to COVID-19 but because of the pollution in Metro Manila. It is such a common occurrence that the DOH should give a name to the condition that strikes returning residents.

In any case, the suggestion that the DOH should “Test First – Tell Later” is quite timely. In fact, they should follow the example of the many hog raisers in the Philippines who have adopted a “Less Talk – Less Fear” policy concerning ASF. We recently tried to invite representatives of hog raisers in the Philippines and we were told that they would rather not because it seems that the more they talk about ASF the more anxious and afraid people become about buying and eating pork. This seems to be on the money in terms of crisis management because the best thing to do when dealing with something that is so sensitive it immediately causes market disturbances or drops, the same way COVID-19 is now affecting global economic confidence. So let’s just DOH-it: Less Talk – Less Fear.

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After appealing to Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto to take down the concrete barrier in front of the entrance of the Rizal Medical Center, I got a text reply on the matter that ended up as a pleasant surprise. As I read the message thread, it did not register in my head that the person who was texting me was the Mayor’s celebrity father Vic Sotto who read my column, told his son the Mayor, and took the initiative to send me the Mayor’s reply.

Given the recent dramas over an “unauthorized” wedding and the protests of a “Tiger Mom” it’s good to know that there are also supportive parents of celebrity politicians. I admire the fact that Vic Sotto remains grounded enough to “help out,” continues to do what he can for his son in spite of the fact that they both have different and busy lives, and is considerate enough to help friends in media to get information that the public needs. More power to you Vic.

For his part, Mayor Vico explained that the area and the barricade that blocks vehicles coming into the Rizal Medical Center is under the MMDA and they have made a request since last year for the MMDA to open up a small portion for use of emergency vehicles. Knowing that, we will now follow up or make kulit MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia to review the request for the benefit of emergency ambulances and patients. 

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Acts 17:22-31 (WEB): 22 Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus, and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.”

If St. Paul were to come back to life and happen to visit several streets in Barrio Kapitolyo, Pasig where we live, chances are he would also make the same comment about peoples’ religious devotion given how an unknown group of devotees expressed their “panata” or devotion by constructing a number of altars featuring different “saints” of the Catholic Church several years ago. This is not all too unexpected since every street I know in Barrio Kapitolyo is named after the saints. In fact you can tell which side of the barangay a person lives based on the gender/name of the saint since the place is split with male saints on the east side and female saints on the west side.

So, what happens when devotion collides with Duterte? As we all know, Malacañang, the DILG and the MMDA is determined to clear and reclaim all roads and sidewalks in the country based on President Duterte’s orders. I failed to mention that the altars to the saints as well as the Holy Family were built on the sidewalks of the barangay. Out of curiosity, I asked a DILG official who visited TV5 recently and the expected response was: Nobody is exempted especially if people complain about losing their sidewalk space. It’s one of those: “what were they thinking of?” situations. I suppose the “saints” will find homes but the altars will undoubtedly have to come down.

Personally, I think its much better to go to the house of God and pray in the comfort and solitude than do the sign of the cross in passing, or touching a statue by the roadside during this time of COVID-19. You might end up in the pearly gates sooner than expected.

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