‘Stupid as it gets’

So all of us in the entire country will remain under lockdown. For another 15 days starting today until end of this month, we all have to live under community quarantine because many local government units (LGUs) fear the resurgence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases once the lockdowns in their areas are lifted. Or is it because LGU executives only wanted to continue accessing their calamity funds if they remain under lockdown?

As “ratified” by Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), 37 provinces from eight regions that are classified as “low risk” in the resurgence of COVID-19 infection were supposed to be lifted out of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). The local executives from these LGUs immediately appealed to the IATF to keep them under community quarantine.

The IATF ratified their request on the endorsement of Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año. The LGU request came just a few hours after the IATF announced at Malacanang the lifting of the lockdown in their areas last Tuesday. Thus, these LGUs will be given a new lockdown category called as “modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).”

Pending the issuance of guidelines for MGCQ that would still be crafted by the IATF, presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced yesterday all the LGUs previously lifted out of lockdown have been reverted back to GCQ category in the meantime.

On the other hand, the provinces from eight other regions around the country that IATF classified as “moderate risk” have been downgraded from ECQ to GCQ effective today. Only three areas that were classified as “high-risk” on possible spiking of new COVID-19 transmission will now be under a new category called as “modified” ECQ, or a degree lower than ECQ. These are, namely, Laguna, Cebu, and the national capital region (NCR) comprised by the 16 cities and one municipality of Metro Manila.

As arranged from the degree of most severe to relaxed guidelines-- ECQ; MECQ; MGCQ; and, GCQ – will be the new IATF alphabet.

The only difference is the degree of stringent community quarantine measures enforced in each of the LGUs around the country. And depending on the newest categories and additional sets of community quarantine guidelines, certain industries and activities will be allowed to resume their normal business operations or just partially. 

Going on this third extension of these community quarantine rules, we face the prospects that we may have to live under lockdown regime “until kingdom come” as declared much earlier on by President Duterte. That is, as President Duterte vowed, a vaccine is discovered or developed to treat or protect us against this deadly flu-like virus.

The IATF will presumably adopt this alphabet to govern our LGUs until such time we graduate into the so-called “new normal” ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic contagion. The “new normal,” as loosely defined by the various IATF guidelines, involved drastic changes in our way of life, not just here in the Philippines but for the rest of the world reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This “new normal” requires the strict practices of hygiene from constant washing of our hands, the use of alcohol or hand sanitizers, the wearing of facial masks, social or physical distancing, just to mention some of the activities we must do to keep us COVID-free and alive.

On the part of the government and the private sector, “minimum health standards” must be implemented first such as conducting regular COVID-tests, the use of personal protective equipment, installing body thermal scanners and footbaths, among them. Only then can industries and business establishments will be allowed to resume and gradually get back to operations, if they are located in any of the areas under MGCQ, GCQ, or MECQ.

At this stage, however, it behooves upon the IATF to reconsider its existing “protocols” pertaining to Filipinos, whether students or tourists, who got stranded in provinces when the ECQ first took effect in Metro Manila and the rest of the Luzon provinces since last March 15. Hundreds, if not thousands, of these students and local tourists got stranded not because of their own doing but they are being prevented to return to their homes because of the lockdowns in these LGUs.

Under IATF guidelines, people must first secure a medical certificate from the health office from LGU where they got stranded as proof they are not COVID infected. The certificate states that they have undergone already 14-day quarantine in that place they got stranded. So this means they are certified to be COVID-free. Well and good, that’s fine.

But another requirement is that local officials of the citizens’ hometowns must also issue a certificate that they are willing to accept back their constituents. Once the two documents are complied with, these will be submitted in turn to the police commander in that LGU for processing and issuance of travel authority. WTF!?!

If the government frowns upon discrimination against people who got infected but recovered from COVID-19, why discriminate on un-infected individuals who underwent quarantine? Where is the rhyme and reason here for imposing this superfluous border control pass?

These are the same woes being suffered by our returning overseas Filipino workers and seamen who were being prevented to return to their homes by LGUs in their respective cities, towns and provinces despite having undergo COVID-testing and quarantine.

President Duterte has repeatedly called the attention of these LGUs against imposing their own community quarantine ordinances. The Chief Executive reminded them our country is not under a federal state that they can dictate their own rules even if LGUs enjoy certain autonomy under our Constitution.

So if these LGU executives want their respective areas to remain under community quarantine, the IATF must ensure they are not delegating the lockdown authority to local leaders who impose their own restriction as stupid as it gets.