Ninety days and counting

The strict - some would say harsh - enforcement of the pandemic lockdown has disrupted our daily routines. It has impacted heavily on the poor and the working class. Out of work and barely subsisting, they have found themselves relying on the unpredictable flow of government aid. Some business leaders were arguing for a less severe lockdown, one that would allow economic activities to continue but with defined rules on social distancing and public hygiene similar to Vietnam. But the government opted to deal with the pandemic not as a public health crisis but as a public order and security crisis. Thus, the rigid and inflexible enforcement of rules except for the powerful and the privileged.

What does government have to show for these stern measures? After more than 90 days, we have yet to flatten the curve. We are still on the first wave.

The number of infections continue to rise, and this time the public has grown to doubt the accuracy of each report from the Department of Health (DOH). A special adviser to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) claims he was “forced” to quit - allegedly at the behest of two ranking Cabinet officials - for publicly bewailing the monumental failures of the DOH, primarily its mishandling of data. That the statement came from an adviser of the IATF is news-worthy indeed. Yet his statement merely validated long-held observations about the manner in which the DOH and its leadership has been handling, or mishandling, pandemic-related information crucial to the IATF’s work. This is just one of the failures of of the DOH leadership. Persistent reports of corruption has prompted the Ombudsman to conduct a probe.

In the past 90 days, however, ordinary citizens have learned to cope. If there is a silver lining to this crisis, it is that it has kindled once again their creativity, sense of purpose, and initiative. For example, a thriving community of online buying and selling has emerged from the lockdown. This has proven to be a lifeline for small businesses and the self-employed who have been economically displaced. Instead of further encouraging such initiatives, however, government comes in and spoils it by announcing it will tax online sellers.

This is not the exception but the rule. Government has proven time and again that it is the biggest spoiler. Take another example. In the absence of public transportation, government encouraged the public to use bicycles, but when cycling advocates placed safety markings on the roads to designate bike lanes, the Metropolitan Manila Development Agency (MMDA) threatened to have them arrested. When the Transport Department later yielded and agreed to the bike lanes, the MMDA proceeded to mark the lanes but these did not conform with international safety standards.

Government has this bad habit of always appealing for unity, sacrifice, initiative and volunteerism, but is always throwing roadblocks along the way.

We have seen in the past 90 days how even the critics of this administration yielded to the mandates of government to wear face masks in public, wash our hands and stay at home. We displayed discipline and maturity, and looked after each other. This kind of communal responsibility seems to be absent in countries like the United States where stay-athome orders and wearing face masks have become polarizing issues.

But there is a limit to such forbearance. As I have said countless times, the people look to their government and leaders in times of crisis for comfort and assurance. When there is fear and anxiety, government and leaders should offer comfort and provide a steady and decisive presence.

Government conveys its messages through words and deeds. One expects those in government to set the example. Instead, we are treated regularly to reports of government officials and personnel breaking their own rules. Most recently, personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) held a despedida party in Boracay, a violation of the ban on public gatherings. In Pangasinan, a father and his son were arrested for violating a ban on tandem riding on a motorcycle. Yet we see police and uniformed personnel committing the same violation everyday. Such acts of entitlement - of government people placing themselves above the law - have become more blatant during the lockdown.

The plain truth is that after more than 90 days - considered the longest lockdown in the world - government’s pandemic response is still adrift. The economy is in tatters and more people have been driven to despair. The persons who are supposed to implement the rules are the rule breakers. And instead of a unified and coherent government effort to confront the pandemic, we have a proposed Anti-Terror Bill that is only one signature away from being a law.

We cannot fault a growing segment of the public, therefore, for feeling that they have been let down by government. But for some, that is no longer surprising.