Pass – fail – incomplete?

Today’s column title will probably bring you back to your college days when the words “Pass – Fail – Incomplete” would remind you of exams, grades and sleepless nights especially if the particular test or exam you are worried about will determine if you get into the particular program or college you have been aspiring to. Today, however, you and I are not the ones that should be concerned about passing or failing or getting an “incomplete.” It is the national government or the Duterte administration and the Inter-Agency Task Force for Infectious Diseases that should undergo a test or examination to determine if their recent actions in combatting the COVID-19 virus in the Philippines has “passed, failed, or is found “incomplete.” In an interview with Congressman Rufus Rodriguez on the program AGENDA, he pointed out that the law, the Bayanihan to Heal as One law has a life of only three months, nearly two months of which has been consumed on community quarantine, Social Amelioration Program and testing.

With two thirds of the time allotted nearly finished and no end in sight, it feels only logical for Congress to invite the IATF and independent experts to examine or evaluate if the government has a visible and logical plan that is better than “a dog chasing its own tail.” For starters, may we know who is the expert on board and decision maker for the government’s plan of action. And if there is a plan of action, can this be presented to the public so we can see that the IATF has an experienced and competent leader who is a career expert and not a politician or a political appointee who does not enjoy the credibility and support of concerned communities such as health and business. Such a public presentation and almost thesis-like defense would help prove that the IATF is not doing things on a day to day basis largely dependent on PR value or public reaction.

Given how all nations were overtaken by events, it is understandable that government’s response would be almost like shooting from the hip at anything that moves. But 60 days later and with quarantine measures and management beginning to create or cause more and more problems, wisdom and experience dictates that someone needs to step on the brakes, and that will have to be Congress who made the law and released all the money. Aside from sorting out who is really in-charge and what qualifies him or her, it would be interesting and vital for all of us to know what exactly is the plan or strategy of the government to contain COVID-19? South Korea prioritized testing and treatment. The US belatedly acted to insure that medical facilities and health workers were not overwhelmed, then slowly worked on community quarantine, travel bans, social distancing and wearing masks, then mass testing. Germany focused on medicine, testing and contact tracing while Sweden followed a more relaxed policy allowing public movement with social distancing believing they would establish herd immunity.

In the Philippines, the government held back until the last minute to enforce travel bans, never had sufficient supplies of masks and PPEs even before the pandemic, resorted to community quarantine in order to buy time for the health sector to ramp up their capability to deal with COVID-19 and to this day has largely depended on the guidance of the World Health Organization which has been harshly criticized for its slow and politicized response to the pandemic. At the moment, the government is highlighting their “Targeted Testing” aimed at testing one to two percent of the population in order to track where the virus is currently located and how widespread the contagion is.  And then what?

What seriously ails the government’s response is that the COVID-19 related data is sparse, scattered and slow in reaching concerned agencies and bodies who in turn have to interpret or analyze the data as basis for future policy making for the IATF. Many foreign groups that have made studies of South East Asian countries have repeatedly qualified their reports when it comes to the Philippines because they can’t get their hands on enough information relative and important to research and evaluation.

As a result, the Philippine government and the IATF have ended up making decisions, announcing rules and every now and then retracting or totally abandoning them. Take for instance the often repeated travel ban on seniors and minors as issued by the WHO and based on prior statistics of patients infected or killed by COVID-19. Three times the IATF got mud on their face when they were reminded that the country’s economy is run by seniors many of whom own the majority of businesses in the country. In their latest pronouncement, the IATF allowed workers to go back to work; emphasized social distancing that resulted in barely any buses to take passengers.

At this stage, these bloopers and blunders are becoming more and more glaring alongside the drama and emotions shown on TV featuring the old and the desperate walking for hours only to be denied any assistance or food they badly need. But the real volcanic kind of concern would be the millions of Filipinos who are beginning to feel like prisoners and detainees in contrast to a President who gets to go home to his beloved family in Davao. By all means the President has every right to be with his family, that is not the issue or the argument. The question of many ordinary Pinoys is “Papaano na si Edi?” who is “Edi” you might ask; Eh di kami! In English:  Good for the President, but what about us?

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