Let governors govern

The last two weeks have had to be the worst weeks for members of the IATF and the Duterte administration in terms of crafting policies and solutions as well as communicating their decisions.

On several occasion, the IATF came up with ideas, solutions that defy common sense and logic, such as opening up business establishments, allowing millions to go to work but failing or disregarding the vital need for public transportation. Then there were the follow up solutions that would allow motorcycles on highways but only those with sidecars. That of course earned the government hundreds of memes where owners of high-end motorcycles posted photos of BMWs and Ducati’s with carbon fiber sidecars like those made in the provinces. The idea was quickly dropped by the IATF but not before they declared that having back riders was still not allowed. To make matters worse, it was also suggested that married couples should also observe social distancing not only on motorcycles but even in their own homes. I suppose it’s an attempt to curb the population explosion that is expected from three months of being cooped up at home. The only good out of that is that if the pandemic stretches into years, the Coronials will all have a comprehend and speak Korean!

I can only commiserate with government spokespersons who have had to push and pull back on their pronouncements every time officials discovered the absence of logic and common sense in their proclamations. At one point, it almost felt like they were suffering from Schizophrenia or dual but conflicted personality. We are five days short of 3 months or 90 days and for nearly a month I have been calling out the administration to call a time out, or put in a fresh team or do some substitution or increase the number of players on the team because the ones doing all the work at the moment are showing visible signs of over fatigue, burn out and are running out of fresh ideas. Unfortunately, it is apparently the players themselves who are too busy to notice, are living in denial, or because the President wants to finish the game with his original team.

But three months after the fact, there is no denying that the IATF that is based in Metro Manila which has the highest concentration of cases, already has its hands full and has no businesses telling provinces and regions how to run or manage their constituencies especially since the IATF are not the elected officials of said provinces. Instead of simply giving general guidelines and logistical support, the national government has ended up micro managing the state of affairs in every region and province, completely debunking their claims that the local governments are in charge. As a result, Governors are denied the right and the responsibility to govern, Mayors and Village Chiefs have ended up being clerks, accountants and errand boys of the IATF and what’s worse is that the IATF is imposing policies and instructions, making pronouncements based on the arm-chair science of experts located in Metro Manila.

The reason we have Governors is for them to govern and not be dictated upon, certainly not by political appointees. Governors and all those local officials were elected and will be held accountable by their constituents so they should be held accountable for how they formulated and implemented their response to Covid-19 and not how dutifully and faithfully they adhered to the orders and instructions coming out of Malacañang and the DILG. The national government has already done a good job of fighting off the first wave of the plague now let’s give the elected officials some flexibility to fine tune the health and safety protocols as well as the stabilization of their respective areas and economies.

Let the Governors govern.

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The current crisis in the US and parts of the world brought about by the death of George Floyd and the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement must be giving some local officials cause for concern if not sleepless nights. Long before the global protests, Filipinos have been raising the issue of Extra Judicial Killings and how things finally got out of hand after three minors were killed in what were claimed to be drug related incidents. The policemen who were charged in the murder of Kian Delos Santos were recently found guilty which shows that our justice system works.

The question is how well is the system of recruiting, training and monitoring of police officers in the Philippines? If anything, the number of incidents showing Police Officers behaving in very unprofessional manner during the ECQ and GCQ of Metro Manila reveals the lack of consistent training, briefing, reminder and orientation of police officers. The various incidents inside Bonifacio Global City where cops threatened foreigners and Filipinos alike, where certain police officers violated social distancing, where a high ranking police officer was even heard saying “lets give a medal to piss off the critics”, all this show signs of flawed character and maturity. At the moment, a video is going around Facebook where seven PNP personnel  accosted a mother of two, shouting at her, not realizing the mother was Indonesian. Apparently it was not the first and unless the entire unit is replaced by better-trained police officers, we will suffer the bad PR and its consequences.

In one conversation/interview I had with General Guillermo Eleazar, I strongly suggested that the PNP should stop wearing combat fatigues. The PNP officers might think it’s cool to wear combat outfits during quarantine but they fail to realize that in trying to look like “Soldiers” they are revealing their lack of pride in being a Police Officer. Maybe that is what’s wrong with our police today. They do not fully understand their role and their relationship with the citizens. You are one of us. You are not above us. You swore to serve and protect not to “swear at” and “police”. Educate yourselves and discover what a Police Officer is and take pride in it.

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