Cebu City under siege
AFTER more than three months of sacrifice under mostly enhanced community quarantine, residents of Cebu City were told by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte that we Cebuanos are hardheaded and overconfident. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año was also quoted as saying that most of us (meaning at least about half a million individuals) were not following quarantine protocols and would habitually not wear face masks if police were not around. Secretary Michael Diño, the presidential assistant for the Visayas, lashed out at those who criticized his role in Cebu City’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, calling them dumb.
Hardheaded, overconfident, violators of regulations, dumb — there you have it. So, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu was appointed by the President to save us Cebuanos from ourselves and Covid-19.
Obviously, the local response had failed to curb the spread despite Mayor Edgardo Labella’s insisting that the mortality rate remained low, with recoveries nearly outpacing new cases. However, with a high and accelerating number of infections, the absolute number of infected persons needing hospitalization will unavoidably be high, too. Our health care system is not built to take such numbers of highly infectious, critically ill patients for a sustained period of time. It’s almost like Italy, a doctor told me.
So, we can chose to let pride get in the way or accept the reality. The fact is that Cebu City’s response has been inadequate despite earlier pronouncements that the city was the most prepared. Our best wasn’t good enough. The mass swab testing having been done in various locations in the city identified some hotspots, but maybe it was too little and too late. As some clusters were put under control, others emerged.
It is actually a relief that the national government has taken charge. Despite the gravity of the situation, our local officials were busy trading accusations regarding some 17,000 donated chickens that nobody could account for. The distribution of relief goods and senior citizens’ assistance has been politicized, resulting in unintended mass gatherings where physical distancing was not observed. Only a select few members of the city council appear to been asked by the mayor to be involved in the crisis response. Rather, some powerful personalities have been calling the shots, sometimes over the head of Mayor Labella. It is said that Cebu City Hall had “many mayors.” In the meantime, infections accelerated, the hospitals filled up, more and more policemen were infected, and even the local water district became a Covid cluster.
The Cebu City Health Department continued to release daily reports of recoveries, new confirmed cases and deaths per barangay (village), but there have been no analysis, no totals per barangay, no explanation of testing strategy, identification of clusters, etc. that could have explained where we are in the pandemic and where we’re headed.
The Department of Health Central Visayas went from being very transparent with daily updates on cases and brief but informative explanations, to not providing updates until a few days ago.
One would think that the key to beating Covid is information. Yet, Cebu City residents had to rely on hearsay, rumors and a leaked document to know what was going on. Rumors started on June 22 that the city would be placed under hard lockdown. Then on June 23, Secretary Año canceled all the about 250,000 quarantine passes issued by Labella last March. People found out through a leaked order from the Cebu City Police Office that got posted and shared in social media. After the document was leaked, the police had to issue an official statement. The city mayor didn’t make a statement until very late in the evening.
It wasn’t explained clearly whether people would still be allowed to go out and buy groceries or if we would have to wait for the issuance of new passes. In the meantime, Secretary Cimatu went around the city. He held several press conferences, but did not invite local media so, we the public — and our local media — had to hear the updates through national media. This included the information about which of Cebu City’s 80 barangay are considered Covid hotspots and have been recommended for hard lockdown.
“How can we win the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic if we keep our people in the dark? To win this war, we have to involve the people and fight as one,” said Cebu City Councilor Alvin Dizon. Threats of arrest and filing of cases have limited effect in stopping community transmission. Rather, awareness and knowledge about Covid and the hows and whys of stopping transmission must be deepened and expanded. The local chapter of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, together with Cebu’s print and digital media, could help out in a massive information campaign. This is our city and we want to be part of the solution.