JUST HOW BAD WE HANDLE THE PANDEMIC? IT'S WORST!

Let me begin by saying, I'm not a Dilawan because my color is brown and I don't have hepatitis. I don't have plans of becoming a politician so don't ask me to run. Never ask me what I have contributed to the country because there's a lot. Being a good citizen is one example and there's more on my plate. And please don't do shit on me using Ad hominem, Ad Misericordia, etc. Not with me, do it with other people. Or better yet, don't do it at all.

Why I am saying? Because there's a lot of douchebag lurking around social media waiting for their prey. These are paid trolls trying to malign the people, spreading fake news and attacking those who are critical of the government. But I don't mind them, engaging with them means more money to them. The hell I care. What is important now is the problem this society is facing and how this government is trying to win over it. I guess winning isn't manifesting that much, what is more prevalent is the incompetencies we see. Yes, incompetency by this Government is becoming more and more obvious. If you don't see this kind of incompetencies then better have your eyes checked, most probably you are suffering from false obedience. If not, then maybe becoming as such, is your bread and butter.

It's pretty obvious that I hate this current Administration, but don't get me wrong on this. It doesn't mean that the previous is better or the future administration will be good. This is not a competition, and we should not think of it that way. Nobody should compete.

My point here is, right now, we haven't flattened curve, In fact, the number of people got infected with Covid19 is continuously growing. It's all true that no country is ever prepared for this but that should not be an alibi for not doing your job because a lot of countries are winning again this pandemic.

The country has been too complacent. When we first heard the news and eventually when we record the first few cases of Covid19 in the Philippines, nobody took it seriously. Others already have an early initiative to have restrictions and emergency measures like that of Taiwan, Hongkong, Vietnam, and Singapore, we, on the other hand, made an appeal not to hurt China's feeling. The Philippines is remarkably late to follow suit.

The lead agency, DOH which is headed by our incompetent Sec. Duque even mentioned "nothing really to be scared of". His tone simply tells us the lack of urgency and the lack of foresight of what could happen in the coming days or months.

The Senate even conducted a hearing on how ready we are and from that alone reveal how ill-prepared we are in combating this pandemic. During that time, I can remember that we only have 2000 test kits available. I guess the DOH has no idea that in the coming days they need to secure masks, PPE's, ventilators, more isolation room/wards for the hospital, etc. And that they need to secure more testing kits, approved more laboratories within and outside Metro Manila, that they need to be efficient in gathering data of the patients, to hire more contact tracers, nurses, doctors, med techs, etc. That they need to provide the frontliners a decent temporary shelter to stay or free transportation to ease their in coming to an from the hospitals. It was only late-March that we slowly see improvements on the said essentials that the DOH has to secure or provide. Why is this happening? Why the lack of urgency? I can only surmise that captain of the DOH shipped isn't really concern to the people. Isn't really serving the people but rather serving only one person, "serves at the pleasure of the President" We are doomed.

Here comes the quarantine which started last March 16, 2020. This has been long overdue, a month and a half after the Philippines have recorded the first COVID 19 case on January 30, 2020. And after they announced it, there was chaos everywhere. Transportation was halted, work stopped. the economy freezes. Later was found out that no clear protocol has been drafted. It's like trial and error. We heard a lot of versions of the quarantine, Enhance, Modified, General, name it. These brought about confusion and disappointment by the majority of the people because there are no clear guidelines as to what will happen or what should be done. We see a familiar scenario, just like how ill-prepared DOH is. There were no clear guidelines for redistribution of help from the government down to the barangays. Because of this ill-preparedness, people started to panic and be frustrated with the Government. The sad reality is, the incompetencies of the government was blamed on the people, Branding them as people with a lack of discipline. But isn't it true that if there are clear cut policies, communication, coordination, preparedness from the government, the people will follow? Why blame the people while in fact, those who are in the government are the ones violating the quarantine protocols? There is Mocha, the fake news queen. Koko, who didn't use his kokote. The famous Sinas, about his mañanita party. Those who are hopeless were killed, like that of the retired army, and thousands of alleged offenders of quarantine. While those who are in the government are laughing to those who got killed and imprisoned.

Adding insult to the injury that we have, is making the Anti-Terror Bill an urgent matter that needs to be passed into law by the legislators immediately. Really? At this point in time where we don't even know if we can survive this Pandemic? How do I describe it? It's awful. Don't get me wrong, we need a law that punishes the terrorists but at the expense of our basic laws? There's a lot of commentaries by the expert, law schools siding their position against the bill. Individuals who expressed their concerns like Dean Mel Sta. Mari who explained in detail the danger of the said bill. One day, if you make a comment about the government or the people in power, there's a chance you'll have your quarantine in jail. Political dissent can be very dangerous. I was thinking that perhaps this is one way of silencing the people about the incompetence of the government in handling the crisis. Or perhaps this is an advanced tool for the coming 2022 election? This is not the prime time to give the government much power to do whatever they can at the expense of the common people's rights to express themselves. The rush and the urgency of this is stupid. The only terror on all of this is the bill itself. This bill is spreading terror.

Latest the we have right is the conviction or Maria Ressa, The CEO of  Rappler. Other said it has nothing to do with Freedom of Press, Freedom of speech because it was filed by a private individual, name Wilfredo Keng, who facilitated or became the contact person between the Government and the Chinese philanthropist Huang Rulun who donated worth Billion pesos for the drug rehabilitation facility. And, by the way, Keng's daughter was appointed member of the Philippines Commission on Women for the youth sector.

To be honest, I'm getting tired of the news I read every day regarding how being incompetent is the new normal. Why can't the government just do their job to protect us? Why can't they just have compassion for the people especially the poor ones? Please stop blaming the people, because most of them doesn't have a choice. Look at Michelle who dies waiting for the bus going home to his children? Look at the so-called Modern-day Heroes who were neglected and treated as nobody? Where is the Trillion pesos fund which most came from borrowing? We are the one and our children who's going to pay for it in the long run.

If we are going to be critical with the Government, we're not trying to topple it. We are just trying to remind them of the job they have to do. They owe it to us. They are public servants and they should serve the public. It's their choice and they should live by that. Stop being a blind follower. As a Filipino, your loyalty must be with your fellow Filipino.