IATF should listen to people’s complaints

I usually answer all my emails and sometimes reprint those that have great appeal and can also help other readers. The first one was a text message sent to me last Monday from a dear friend and fellow STAR columnist Mike Toledo. I only hope that the IATF reads these letters.

“On the ongoing raging debate on easing of lockdown restrictions, I have always been uncomfortable when what is posited is a choice between saving lives and reviving economies. Why does it have to be binary? Isn’t saving lives a condition sine qua non to a revival of the economy? Sick people can’t work. No work – no productivity. It’s that simple.

Similarly, if the economy is in a rut, when there are no jobs, no taxes paid to fund basic societal necessities, chances are the population will succumb to some form of sickness. And, there is a plethora of that to choose from. Before my earlier statement generate critical opprobrium, let me be clear – as we battle this pandemic, it is extremely difficult to navigate the tight rope between saving lives and saving economies.

A balance must be struck between greatly reducing the contagion and resulting deaths and the need to avert an impending economic collapse. They are not mutually exclusive. In a recent report, the WB said that the world economy has contracted by 5.2 percent. The Philippine economy to contract by 1.9 percent. The lockdown while it did save lives, it was at the expense of tremendous economic losses.

A UP research team has been monitoring the COVID situation for weeks now using r-naught (reproductive number) to measure transmission potential of the virus. The study showed that since May the infection rate has gone down. Mild infection comprised majority of cases while severe and asymptomatic accounted for less than one percent.

The research team noted that many cities except those in Metro Manila and Cebu are winning the war against COVID. The number of patients admitted to hospitals and deaths due to infection dropped. Recoveries jumped to 50 percent from March. Just this afternoon, the DOH said median of nine deaths per day is below global average. Let us gradually open the economy and simultaneously ramp up our ability to test, trace, and treat. We must not allow the virus to enslave us. Mike.”

I fully agree with this long texted article from Mike Toledo that the time is ripe for us to now focus on the recovery of our economy. Remember that the latest COVID deaths only reached 1,087 in almost four months which is a smaller number than dengue fever or tuberculosis deaths. Alas, the IATF doesn’t listen to credible criticism. God help them.

Here is another email that came out last week, but I did not have the chance to print it then. So allow me to reprint this letter from Lily Galace.

“This email is in relation to your article today. It’s been three months and seniors are till now not allowed to go out. Meanwhile we are running out of supplies while supermarkets and groceries have stocks that have expired or are about to expire. Think of the millions of pesos wasted simply because the IATF is not responsive to the needs of people, and of businesses.

I live in San Narciso, Zambales where there had been two COVID cases, both some weeks ago, so we are in fact relatively free. However, I am not allowed to go out, not even to buy my groceries. Thankfully I have a helper who does it for me. In my fourth class town, there are no real supermarkets which can supply what I need and want. Were I allowed to go shopping to the nearest city today, I have a full list and if you multiply that by the number of seniors, that will help many businesses from losing more than they already do. Not all seniors are decrepit geriatrics just waiting to die.

There are many ways of opening supermarkets that will be safe for seniors – why not allocate a time, e.g., 8 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. for seniors to go shopping. This way, there will be social distancing and provide a safe way for seniors to buy their supplies. Not allowing us to go out is simply ridiculous. I have now asked my sister in the US to send me a balikbayan box for my simple grocery needs because of this stupid rule. IATF do not understand that while health is important, economic health for the nation is just as important. Many people are now driven to despair, their mental health is failing. LG Lily Galace”

Many of us senior citizens are still healthy and at work. Just the other day, I requested Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella to allow seniors a Sunday off… by getting out of their homes for their needs at least once a week. But it looks like this request is already gone because Cebu City has once again been returned to an Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) even if our death toll on COVID-19 is only 33 deaths! Shame IATF!

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