Ensure health, social safety nets for all

As quarantine is imposed on the entire Metro Manila and some surrounding provinces, a chill of concern shakes through our nation. We are wary. We worry for the elderly, the poor, and the physically vulnerable. We have seen with our own eyes the vast inadequacies of the public health care infrastructure in the Philippines. We know we have dedicated doctors, nurses, and other front-line health workers.

Still the great inequity between the few rich and the millions of poor will be laid bare as the COVID-19 disease descends upon poor communities.

Peering into a future that we pray will not be ours, we admonish the Duterte administration that it will be morally reprehensible for the government to militarize their response to the looming and present COVID-19 health crisis.

Now is a time for government officials to prove themselves. Both elected and appointed officials should demonstrate, at this hour of need, that they are fit for office. The usual politics of the elite — the ones who have once again brought our nation to midnight-hour preparations — deserves no place in the fight against the pandemic.

The government must ensure social safety nets. Hospital, medical, and testing services should be provided to ALL who are in need. We shudder at the recognition of how ill-prepared we really are. Budgets must be allocated and swift response engaged to prepare with haste for the possible, nay probable, outbreaks ahead. Not only should the poor, the elderly, and other vulnerable Filipinos be assured that they will be properly treated should they fall ill, but front-line health providers and workers must also be assured of proper safety standards and government support.

Given the drastic measures of the Duterte administration, we call for the inclusion of civil society groups in the decision-making and monitoring of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Public participation will lessen the fears of the Filipino people that COVID-19 will be a way for the Duterte administration to further limit the democratic freedoms of our people. Such participation will also underscore the government’s adherence to the right of the public to access information in a timely and efficient manner.

The focus of our preparation should be on the effective and efficient delivery of health services as well as general public wellness. COVID-19 may not yet have a vaccine, but proper support treatment can greatly mitigate the spread of the disease. Making sure that the poor have food to eat, access to water, and basic soap as well as other disinfectants can go a long way.

FR. ROLLY DE LEON and REV. MARY GRACE MASEGMAN
Cochairpersons
Promotion of Church People’s Response,
[email protected]