"We urgently need an information campaign."
"We urgently need an information campaign."
President Duterte has finally declared a state of public health emergency amid the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The President heeded the recommendation of the Department of Health, which also issued a Code Red alert after discovering that a Filipino couple who had never traveled abroad contracted the virus. This could mean that the dreaded virus was locally transmitted.
What does this all mean for the nation?
It simply means that the dreaded virus need not be transmitted by going to affected countries. We can be affected even when we just stay here in the country.
It also confirms what I have been fearing—that COVID-19 could affect us at the community level.
My gulay, with the coronavirus now locally transmitted, there are two things that the government should also do. First, as I have been suggesting, is to launch a massive education and information campaign. People should be told the dos and don'ts!
This is critical considering the fact that if the virus hits the squatter communities, it will be a disaster. Imagine what the virus can do to the poor who are uninformed and uneducated about the virus? And do they even have enough water for sanitation practices?
A public health emergency refers to an occurrence of an imminent threat of illness or health condition that poses a high probability of a large number of deaths, a large number of serious injuries or long-term disabilities, widespread exposure to an infectious or toxic agent, intentional exposure to an infectious person or to its agent.
Simply put, my gulay, it means that exposure to the disease or virus could mean death. We can no longer procrastinate, much less can government afford to not do anything.
The next thing government should do is to mobilize all local governments to adopt measures to help those in need and to prevent the spread of the virus.
It may be too early to think about it, but with the spread of the virus, we might need to ban activities involving crowds gathered in one place, or even close schools!
We should also change our habits like beso beso or kissing the hand of elders. The Catholic church is doing the right thing by telling the faithful to avoid contact during Mass.
But I repeat, the immediate need is for an education and information campaign.
* * *
When President Duterte and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat adopted the visa-upon-arrival policy for the Chinese, I became wary of so many of them coming into the country. Anything could happen, I thought.
I also worried when the President became soft, too soft on the Chinese by allowing the setting up of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators. I am all too aware of the effects of gambling. It is strange to me that POGOs are allowed here when they have been outlawed in China.
True enough, with over 60 POGOs legally operating and another 50 illegally operating, I wonder: Why is our President so friendly to the Chinese?
I live with my daughter in Merville Subdivision and I am alarmed at so many Chinese occupying houses nearby. They are jacking up rental process. Indeed the villages in my area are about 30 percent occupied by the Chinese.
But that is nothing to what the POGOs have made of the Philippines—a playground among criminal individuals and syndicates. There have been killings and prostitution. I won't be surprised if they are involved in the entry of shabu.
Now comes the greater problem of money laundering. Another thing that worries me is the claim by Senator Panfilo Lacson that there are now some 3,000 members of the People's Liberation Army now working for POGOs.
I ask the President—is it all worth it?
* * *
COVID-19 has greatly affected tourism. The travel, hospitality and restaurant industries have all seen sharp declines. I also think that the move to promote domestic tourism is ill-advised and in fact dangerous.
There should instead be a move to discourage Filipinos from traveling. This is the idea of a public health emergency.
This is why my wife and I don't even go out to attend social functions.
* * *
I received this letter from former President and House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo:
“I have just finished reading 'The Road Never Ends.' Thank you for giving Filipino readers the inside story on many contemporary events that shaped the nation.
I wish to thank you especially for setting the record straight about 'Hyatt 10' and the 'Hello Garci' events. Thank God there are writers like you who know that there is no substitute for truth. Otherwise, our nation's history would be messed up by PR-manufactured lies. That would be a disaster, my gulay!”
This letter from a former President and Speaker of the House is enough satisfaction for a journalist like me.