DoST best government responder in this pandemic; DSWD the worst ALL INSIGHT
WHEN written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other opportunity. I really do not know if this is correct, since I cannot read Chinese characters. However, online sources quoted the late United States President John F. Kennedy as having said that.
As is often said, a leader’s true character is revealed in times of crisis. This also goes for how government agencies have responded during this coronavirus disease 2019 ( Covid- 19) pandemic. The government responders’ actions are determined by the true grit of its leaders.
The Department of Science and Technology (DoST) is the best public responder.
The government had mobilized all its resources to address the needs of the present pandemic. As expected, majority of the executive offices performed in a mediocre way — a reflection of their leaders’ capabilities (or non-capabilities). Some even immersed themselves in the mire of corruption, lying to the people through and through, on their way to oblivion. However, a few agencies showed that they can be shining beacons in these dark times.
The DoST, in my personal opinion, was the best in reacting and addressing the concerns of Covid- 19.
The department offered hunger relief for frontliners during the quarantine period through the distribution of Pack-of-Hope ready- to- eat ( POH- RTE) food products. The meals can be eaten directly from the pouch and are suitable for medical workers and uniformed personnel in checkpoints. Those who tasted the POH- RTE said, “The taste is very acceptable,
lasang relief ( doesn’t taste like relief [goods]) and very convenient because it is ready to eat, easy to open and no preparation and cooking needed.”
During the Covid- 19 enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) late last March, thousands of pouches of RTE chicken were distributed in five cities in the metropolis — in the cities of Taguig, Pasig, San Juan, Manila and Quezon — to augment the cities’ program in providing food packs to their constituents.
The DoST embarked on the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program, which supports and assists small and medium enterprises to continue their business operations during the ECQ. These businesses shifted their production design and processes to produce personal protective equipment ( PPE) and other medical materials for both Covid- 19 patients and frontliners. These shifts in processes ( for example, from an original bag production company to tailoring of PPEs) could not have been realized without a technology push from DoST. One fabricator of hospital beds and medical equipment reported an improvement of their product quality and reduction in production cycle time from 10 days to five days. This was because of DoST’s assistance on process improvement and technology, and manufacturing equipment upgrading.
The DoST- Metals Industry Research and Development Center mass produced face shield frames using injection molds and 3D printing. The frames are incorporated with other materials such as polypropylene and acetate sheets to complete the face shield assembly. The department produced face shields at a rate of 2,500 to 5,000 units per day. All face shields were donated to government hospitals and some to local government units.
Hundreds of units of RxBox, a biomedical device, were delivered by the DoST to the Philippine General Hospital as part of its efforts to respond to the Covid-19 crisis. RxBox is an innovation developed by researchers from the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila and UP Diliman, with support from the DoST through the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. It is a multicomponent biomedical device capable of measuring a patient’s temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, uterine contractions and electrocardiogram readings. It can reduce contact between patients diagnosed with Covid-19 and health care workers. The delivered devices were used for bedside monitoring of the vital signs, oxygen saturation and electrocardiogram readings of patients diagnosed with Covid-19, especially those in severe or critical condition who need continuous monitoring.
The DoST likewise developed respirator and ventilator parts for Covid- 19 patients. The respirator venturi valves serve as the connection between the oxygen mask to the respirators. Meanwhile, the ventilator splitter would allow two patients to benefit from one ventilator machine. The department’s Industrial Technology Development Institute turned over the prototypes to the National Children’s Hospital in Quezon City. DoST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña explained that once these prototypes have worked well in the first recipients, they would proceed with mass production.
The DoST has done a lot of other admirable things during this quarantine period, but I will not belabor the point.
Kudos to Secretary de la Peña for steering DoST in the right direction. It turned this crisis into opportunities.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is the worst public responder.
The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and the Joint Memorandum Circular 1 series of 2020 paved the way for the release of billions of pesos to help our countrymen during this pandemic. The aid would have been in the form of cash benefits from the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP). The DSWD was finally tasked to implement it after most local government officials were tainted with allegations of pocketing the initial tranche of the money.
Under the SAP, beneficiaries in the National Capital Region should be given P8,000. Those in Regions 3 and 4A would receive P6,500, while those in Regions 6, 7, 10 and 11 should be getting P6,000. P5,500 was to go to Regions 1, 2 and the Cordillera Autonomous Region. The rest of the regions were to be given P5,000.
The law mandates that the recipients should be given each amount for two months. Therefore, those in Metro Manila should collect a full amount of P16,000; Regions 3 and 4A must get the sum of P13,000 and so on.
But the DSWD, playing the role of a god, dismissed the middle-class families as not entitled to receive the benefits of SAP. President Rodrigo Duterte stepped in and declared that middle-class families who were not included in the first list of SAP recipients would be given their fair share. Nice to hear, but it never became a reality.
The reality is that the DSWD failed big time — whether by intention of its officials or by design. In street parlance,
Social media abounds with stories and complaints from netizens — those who received nothing, those who got reduced amounts, those who were bumped off the list by selective purveying and officials’ favoritism, and other sordid tales. In my estimate and from social media noise, only half of the beneficiaries received the correct allocations. The rest of the qualified recipients were just left guessing, believing and waiting. wait more. The ECQ is about to be lifted by May 31, and still the amelioration cash has not reached its target beneficiaries.
The DSWD required people to fill up forms. It asked people to line up like beggars under the sun. In the end, most were told that they were not qualified to receive SAP. Where is this department’s conscience? Or probably, the better question is — where is this department’s brains and intelligence, if any.
The DSWD officials should be made to account for these patently criminal acts. During this crisis, the department showed that it could be more of a danger to society.