"It’s not surprising that the enemies of the state shall exploit the situation to incite mass action against the authorities."
The incident of residents scrambling for food they heard were to be distributed in Barangay Bagong Pag-Asa, Quezon City Wednesday noon is exactly the chaotic scenario the government is trying to prevent, as the country struggles to resolve the local coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic.
It turned out that the frantic gathering was triggered by some groups and was intended to provoke the poor residents of the said neighborhood to hold a protest rally against the government, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
It’s not surprising that the enemies of the state shall exploit the situation to incite mass action against the authorities. Rest assured that such would be met with the full force of the law.
“Shoot dead the trouble makers,” said Manong Digong in response, making emphatic as always his marching order to protect the innocent and serve the interest of the greater public against the ill designs of saboteurs.
PNP chief General Archie Gamboa assured that human life and human rights will be respected and valued. In the same way, we must appreciate and value the service of our law enforcers now in the frontlines like health workers. They are staking their own life, too.
The government assistance to our less fortunate kababayan is on the way. There is no cause for panic, as we have so far avoided going through the tragic experience of other countries, such as the United States, Italy, Spain, China, Germany, and France where hundreds die each day from COVID-19.
Panic, chaos and anarchy have no room at this juncture when the Duterte administration is weighing all factors on whether to terminate or extend the community quarantine in Luzon and other places.
Everyone should realize that the better we cooperate within the next few days and help keep the public health situation under control, the sooner this whole lockdown gets lifted.
We are at a critical point at which our healthcare system, including both public and private entities, have started to conduct mass COVID-19 diagnostic tests with more testing kits and facilities in operation.
In so doing, we get to identify those infected with the dreaded virus. They need proper treatment. And then we get to cope with the influx of COVID-19 cases, eventually reaching a plateau or flattening of the spike in COVID-19 incidence on the graph.
Only when we have clearly kept the further spread of the disease and placed the general public health situation under control can we consider lifting of the restrictions—and returning to normalcy.
That should be our goal now, over two weeks since the President’s declaration of the enhanced community quarantine. Only then can we get back to work and open businesses as usual.