Rev up government vs COVID-19

While we are in the middle of fighting the spread of the deadly 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) contagion, there are issues and concerns that distract the government’s attention on unnecessary matters. But government authorities are forced upon to act on it before these issues and concerns take turn for the worse.

Take the case of the “revolutionary government” stirred by a group calling themselves as the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte National Executive Committee (MRRD-NECC). Let us just call them simply as RevGov group. They issued an open letter to Philippine National Police (PNP) Gen. Archie Gamboa last Aug. 17 seeking an audience to discuss their proposal for President Duterte to head a revolutionary government until Dec. 31, 2021 to be followed by an election under a new Constitution for a federal form of government.

Last Monday night, Mayor Duterte publicly disowned any hands or being behind this RevGov group that espouses his campaign promise to change the present presidential system of the Philippines into federal government.

Wittingly, or perhaps unwittingly, President Duterte has created his own monster.

It all started after President Duterte expressed his extreme displeasure over a Tagalog adaptation of the revolutionary song, “Do you hear the people sing?” This is the theme song from “Les Miserable” movie, calling for people’s uprising during the French Revolution period. It featured known anti-Duterte entertainment personalities in a video-taped singing of the revolutionary song obviously directed against the government. It went viral on social media in the wake of protest actions initiated and organized by militant government health care workers pressing for higher salary and additional hazard pay amid COVID contagion.

In his Aug. 2 “address to the people” after presiding the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF), President Duterte ranted over the display of defiance of government health care workers instead of bringing the matters directly to him.

“Next time, huwag ninyo akong parinigrinigin ng revolution. Naku, Diyos ko. Iyan ang mas delikado sa COVID. Eh kung mag-revolution kayo, you will give me the free ticket to stage a counter revolution. How I wish you would do it,” President Duterte fumed.

In the end though, the President granted the “time out” call of medical and health experts following the resurgence of COVID-19 cases due to less stringent lockdown restrictions during the previous two weeks. Upon recommendations of the IATF, the President reverted the national capital region (NCR) and other areas with resurgent COVID-19 cases from general community quarantine (GCQ) back to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) for another two weeks until Aug.18.

With the emergence of this “RevGov” group, the opposition ranks and the militants dare the government to apply the full force of the law that State authorities usually do against anti-administration groups. They challenge the  government to file sedition case against this self-confessed pro-Duterte RevGov group, including but not limited to charging them under the newly approved Anti-Terrorism Act Law.

But as of last count, there are now 28, or so, petitions already filed at the Supreme Court (SC), all of which are seeking to invalidate Republic Act (RA) 11479, otherwise known as the Anti-Terror Act (ATA) of 2020. President Duterte signed into law ATA on July 3 and took effect 15 days later on July 18 after publication in the Official Gazette.

All petitioners complained to the High Court the ATA poses “clear and present danger” to the civil liberties and human rights of Filipino people.

Impleaded into these cases were top officials of the Anti-Terror Council (ATC) chaired by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, the Senate and the House of Representatives of the 18th Congress; the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the PNP; and other law enforcement and government agencies that are mandated to implement RA 11479.

In the petitions filed by left-leaning groups, they even included President Duterte among the principal respondents to this case of alleged unconstitutional, illegal and invalid provisions of RA 11479. It goes without saying, the petitioners cannot sue the incumbent Chief Executive because he enjoys immunity from suit while in office.

In response to the 28 petitions, Solicitor General (Sol-Gen) Jose Calida, as the government’s principal legal counsel, asked the SC to dismiss all these petitions that were consolidated into one. The Sol-Gen told the 15-man High Court they don’t even need to set the oral arguments on these petitions because all were “not based on a justiciable controversy but on the strawman of hypothetical abuse.”

As the High Court continues to receive petitions against the ATA, two terrorist bombing incidents took place last Monday in a busy road in Jolo, Sulu. At least 14 persons were killed, including 6 soldiers and one police officer, and wounded 72 others 48 of whom were civilians. Investigators from the Philippine Army confirmed the two suicide bombers in the twin Jolo blast incidents were both widows of slain Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

Government authorities were speculating to the possibility that these two women were the same female terrorists being pursued by  the intelligence operation of Army Major Marvin Indamog and his team when they were shot and killed by policemen in a checkpoint in Jolo on June 29. While this incident is still under probe, there are renewed proposals to reimpose Mindanao-wide martial law.

From my long years of being a reporter – call it jaded – there is certainly no way to stop a sneak attack by determined terrorists like those suicide bombers. Not even a martial law could stop them from trying but police/military manned checkpoints for COVID could suffice.

Given these distractions, we could only implore our State authorities, especially the IATF would rev up instead government efforts to fight COVID-19 pandemic.