Oplan Kalinga pro-poor, anti-COVID-19 program
Oplan Kalinga pro-poor, anti-COVID-19 program
With the rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the country, the government is now looking to have more movement on the ground by
mobilizing teams to encourage patients to make full use of isolation and treatment facilities.
The planned “Oplan Kalinga,” with police officers going house-to-house to fetch coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and transport them to government isolation facilities, will be rolled in local government units (LGU) where confirmed COVID-19 cases have been listed.
This, even as Health Secretary Francisco Duque III claimed the country has already “flattened the curve” since April.
Duque pointed the “flattening” of the curve the length of case doubling time or rate at which the number of cases has multiplied as basis for his claim.
“The metrics for saying arriving at that conclusion of flattening the curve is one, case doubling time of the COVID-19 infection has actually become longer. It used to have a very short case doubling time of 2.5 days during the initial phase of the pandemic,” the Department of Health (DoH) chief said in a pre-State of the Nation Address (SoNA) forum on Wednesday.
Duque likewise said that the mortality doubling time has also been longer as it falls under the moderate risk classification, but at the same time did not discount the fact that cases have been rising due to increased community transmission due to the more relaxed community quarantine restrictions.
However, lawmakers, Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri and Sonny Angara, refuted the Health Secretary’s pronouncement and pointed out that even the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the government should admit the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic before coming up with a solution.
This prompted the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF COVID-19) to introduce “Oplan Kalinga,” a police-assisted house-to-house initiative to urge individuals already confirmed to have contracted the disease to recuperate at government quarantine facilities rather than at home.
It was never considered, never agreed upon with the Metro Manila mayors because of the data.
Having the Philippine National Police (PNP) play a part in the campaign raised howls from the public as many have likened it to the infamous “Oplan Tokhang” where cops went to the houses of suspected drug users and asked them to surrender.
PLt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Deputy Chief for Operations of the PNP, however, insisted that the police will be assisting local health workers in fetching and ferrying patients to the facilities. The health workers will be the ones to explain to the patients and their families about the viral respiratory illness and with the aim of convincing them to avail of the available treatment options.
Eleazar, also clarified patients will not be forcibly taken from their homes.
“As per the instruction of Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (SILG) Eduardo Año, it is the health officers of the LGU who will lead the fetching of the COVID-19 patients from their homes. The local police forces’ presence is only in the form of assistance for any eventuality and especially in escorting the patients to the isolation facilities,” the police official explained.
He furthered stated that Oplan Kalinga is also a means to shield COVID-19 patients and their families from discrimination and other forms of harassment from their neighbors who see them as threats to community health.
“This is not anti-poor as some people would say. This is in fact pro-poor because we would be prioritizing COVID-19 patients who have no means to isolate themselves inside their houses because of the reality that they do not have a room to spare for self-quarantine. This is pro-poor because less fortunate COVID patients will be given the opportunity to stay in an ideal isolation facilities where all their basic needs will be provided by the government,” noted Eleazar.
He is also the commander of Joint Task Force COVID Shield, the enforcement arm of the government’s anti-coronavirus measures.
Initial guidelines issued by the
National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF COVID-19) state that local health workers will verify the residences of those who tested positive for the virus and explain to them and their families the objective of Oplan Kalinga.
MGCQ not likely
Malacañang, meanwhile, said some parts of the country may revert to a stricter pandemic lockdown amid the continuing rise in COVID-19 infections.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III claimed the country has already flattened the curve since April.
According to presidential spokesman Harry Roque, ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s next announcement of fresh lockdown classifications, areas already in modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) may be downgraded to GCQ while GCQ areas are not likely to be upgraded to MGCQ.
Citing Metro Manila, currently under GCQ, as an example, Roque said relaxing restrictions in the region is “out of the question.”
“It was never considered, never agreed upon with the Metro Manila mayors because of the data,” the Palace official reiterated.
Metro Manila has been under GCQ since 1 June and the classification — the third most lenient in a four-step scale — allows the reopening of about 75 percent of the economy.