We Accept The Government We Think We Deserve
Written in April 2020.
I feel anxious about the safety of 109 million Filipinos. And most especially, I fear for the safety of the poor. How can many of them fully understand the meaning of social distancing and quarantine when they don’t even have a home. In a third-world country like the Philippines, many of my countrymen still find themselves living in the streets.
As of this writing, we only have a little more than 1,000 verified and reported positive cases. Data scientists highly doubt this figure. There is so much we don’t know yet considering there are millions out there who have not been tested. And while we have to consider that the Philippines lacks technology compared to its neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, my own government’s response to covid-19 crisis, which is putting the lives of many at risk, has yet to prove itself worthy of the people’s trust.
The huge contrast between the privileged and the poor has never been this obvious. A 69-year old street dweller was arrested after she was found sleeping outside in Malate, Manila while a senator who endangered many of Makati Medical Center’s health workers’ health by violating his quarantine was pardoned by the Department of Justice. Many of those in position have had their private swab tests done at home while some covid-19 patients remained unaware of their disease until the very last breath escaped their pneumonia-infected lungs.
While many Filipinos are extremely deficient in food, shelter and water, some self-serving politicians and people in the government are lacking in values and accountability.
Turning a blind eye on poverty can be disastrous especially when we are faced with a threat to public health such as the covid19 pandemic.
If only the government was sincere with its promise to eradicate both corruption and poverty, we will have better chances at fighting this invisible enemy. If we only stopped too much politicking and fully gave focus on quality-driven projects, small-time drug pushers could have had a decent job and they wouldn’t have to kill or be killed. Poverty is an extreme form of violence. To be forced to commit theft or murder just to feed one’s child is violence. Theft and murder is violence. Poverty is inhumane and cruel.
The lack of sanitation and proper housing is a major cause of the spread of infection or disease. And with the new highly contagious coronavirus creeping into our poverty-stricken communities, we, as a society, may be in for a long and scary ride. Extending the lockdown might be necessary. What use is there to lifting social distancing when we haven’t even reached the peak of contagion? A lockdown is surely going to hurt the economy. A huge recession is on its way and is yet another big threat to the lives of many, especially the poor.
So, then, how can the government address the steady growth in the number of covid-19 infected patients while at the same time support the increasing hunger of those who are in the category of “no work no pay”?
We find hope from the help that is given by more developed countries, from the donations given by big businesses, from the many voluntary assistance given by people’s organizations and from the budget that President Duterte himself said that the government has. The challenge is to find resources to protect health workers and those in the frontlines, and most of all, to help the most vulnerable. It is highly needed…NOW.
The last thing we needed was a lousy, scripted speech that came too little too late. We need an honest and clear action plan. We need swift data-based decision-making.
Many of us are working from home. We may not be out in the streets but we are closely watching. And may this be a lesson learned for all of us. We accept the government we think we deserve.
