‘COBRA guy’ in Manila

Amid the furor stirred by the reported government plans to regulate Netflix, one of its latest popular series “Cobra Kai” came to mind. A take-off from the very popular “Karate Kid” movie series, the “Cobra Kai” continues the saga of the grudge conflict between two teenager characters who are both now in their middle 40’s age.

This popped to my mind during our virtual conversations with Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso Moreno as the featured guest of our Kapihan sa Manila Bay via Zoom Webinar last Wednesday. Known for his transliteration of street language, the popular Mayor is more fondly called Yorme, for short.

Himself now 46 years old, the former actor-turned politician is one of the young blood among elected local government units (LGU) executives in the Philippines. But he was the only one among Metro Manila LGU executives chosen by the British government to attend a brief governance seminar that included a “COBRA” session in London in March this year.

In our virtual conversations at Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum, Yorme disclosed he immediately left London – using his own words “eskierda” – after completing his “COBRA” sessions with British experts and officials.

This was after President Rodrigo Duterte declared on March 9 a state of public health emergency throughout the Philippines spawned by the outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease, or COVID-19 pandemic. United Kingdom (UK) ambassador in Manila, Daniel Pruce invited Yorme to London to undergo study sessions with British experts on crime prevention, national security, urban regeneration, and public health administration. Yorme’s last sessions dwelt on preventive measures against the emerging COVID-19 contagion.

At that time, COVID-19 contagion already broke out in London, too. No less than British Prime Minister Boris Johnson got infected. Johnson profusedly thanked his recovery the hospital health care workers who he said included Filipino nurses.

Before I could ask what “COBRA” is, Yorme went on to explain it stood for Corona British Response Agency. It is an evolving body of British Cabinet ministers tasked to respond to particular crisis situation in their country. Actually, it is the acronym for the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A where the emergency council holds its meeting and various British government officials work in tandem.

I suppose this is the counterpart of our own Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) which President Duterte reactivated in January. It was in response to the outbreak of the deadly flu-like virus until the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upon his return, Yorme recalled, he started to brainstorm sessions with top Manila City Hall officials through virtual meetings on how to implement their own anti-COVID measures adapted from what he learned in his “COBRA” sessions.

Among them was the creation of the Manila Infectious Diseases Control Center (MIDCC) that he has tasked to study and recommend to the city government on anti-COVID measures and actions in consonance with the IATF guidelines. The city government started with 4-bedrooms dedicated for COVID patients at Sta.Ana Hospital which as of today now has 60 beds available.

“We were the first LGU to put up our own quarantine facility at the height of the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) where there was demand for space to prepare for the exponential growth of infection,” Yorme cited.

As of Sept.9, it was reported to him that the COVID-19 infection in the entire city of Manila stood at 880 active cases. On a sad note, Yorme felt sorry for the 351 lives lost due to COVID-19. On a more optimistic view, Yorme cited the city of Manila has 7,850 “recoveries” out of 9,058 confirmed COVID cases.

Whether the city government’s preparations are enough or lacking, Yorme could only pray that the COVID-infection in the city of Manila would dissipate soon.

“There is no playbook in this pandemic,” Yorme conceded.

Faced with this unexpected pandemic, Yorme admitted, both the national government and LGUs like Manila must prioritize the most urgent needs given the available resources. In the case of the city government, Yorme thanked the Manila City Council in the re-appropriation of this year’s budget to augment the funds needed to sustain the anti-COVID measures. He “folded” the budget for road and street repairs, “collapsed” participation of Manila in this year’s Palarong Pambansa, among the less urgent projects the Council approved to defer this year.

Out of these re-appropriations, he disclosed, the City Council produced P1.7 billion budget used to procure 200,000 tablets for Manila schooldchildren and students and 10 gigabytes of free wi-fi. This is for the “blended learning” of the Department of Education (DepEd) for school year 2020-2021.

Yorme likewise lauded the very generous financial donations as well as in-kind material support from various companies doing business in Manila and other private sector groups. He cited likewise the assistance from the international community for donations like hospital equipment consisting of ventilators, digital X-ray machines, oxygenators and personal protection equipment (PPEs), especially needed by the Manila City health care workers from doctors, nurses to laboratory personnel.

As a way to contain the spread of the virus within contiguous LGUs in Metro Manila, Yorme offered anew “free” swab and drive-through rapid-test services to even non-Manila residents, including treatment of COVID-19 patients in the six hospitals of the city. Yorme assuaged: “Walang itong tos-gas (No expenses here).”

From being first elected as three-term councilor of his birth place in Tondo, Yorme rose to become Vice Mayor of the city of Manila with then Mayor Alfredo Lim who succumbed to COVID-19 complications last month.

Special memorial rites will be held to honor Lim whom he recognized as his “mentor” or his “sensei” at City Hall as soon as COVID-19 can be defeated by vaccine. This, Yorme – the “COBRA” guy in Manila – vowed.