The COVID-19 situation is not easing anytime soon. Numbers continue to grow exponentially, leaving people with the possibility to wonder when this will all end. Eight months have passed since the Duterte administration implemented a nationwide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), all the while pressuring Filipinos to follow the implemented rules without proper public health interventions.
So, in the meantime, let’s discuss how the Philippine government did everything except focus their attention on a virus.
Dolomite white sand Manila bay. This 280-million peso project for the beautification of the Manila Bay shores was criticized by various netizens as a waste of money. For one, dolomite doesn't really help in the flood control and obtaining dolomite from the mountain is not a practical, rather a means of destroying the natural terrains of our topography, solution. In the defense of the government, DENR Secretary said it is a way of easing the people's mental health concerns. Really tho?
Duterte thanks China, who stole our islands. Even with our rights to our own islands and winning the Hague ruling, why does Duterte continue to commend the efforts of China in usurping our own territories?
Rape jokes. The President's rape jokes are sometimes injected in his speeches. When will misogyny, sexism, and blatant discrimination especially to the women population a part of a president's job description?
4. We can’t even trust the police. Rape? Assault? Murder? Yes, they’ve done it all! For an organization who claims to “serve and protect” its population, these police officers set the bar so low. Also, because of the lockdown, many rape cases have been reported which led to some PNP offices to post infographics regarding "How to Prevent Rape". Why is this still a question in the 21st century? Shouldn't the answer be simple? Don't rape and don't perpetuate the rapist mindset--that's how you prevent rape cases!
5. Rejects test kit by homegrown scientists. When COVID-19 started to increase cases in the archipelago, Philippine scientists have made an initiative to invent more affordable (than ones that are obtained abroad) test kits. But it was rejected for some unknown inexplicable reasons. Are test kits considered a even business now? during this pandemic?
6. ABS-CBN closure. ABS-CBN is an important news source for most Filipinos especially those in areas that can't get a decent television signal. Its frequencies may reach even the hinterlands, so they say. During the pandemic, majority of the Philippine representatives voted for its disenfranchise. This regime's supporters would say that ABS-CBN deserved it because they were always spewing criticisms against President Duterte. But really, the ordinary Filipinos are most affected. We saw this during the onslaught of the different typhoons this month where news information and dissemination has been greatly decapitated, which led people to be less wary of the impending danger, and led them to under-prepare because the news of the severity of the typhoons did not reach their areas.
7. Red-tagging. With the passing of the Anti-Terror Law, red-tagging had been greatly intensified. Taxes are spent for military intelligent units, but we don't see it being used in better matters. Instead, it is used to spew misinformed generalizations of the dissenters, and used to even fund farm trolls that work for the regime.
8. Bato’s US visa debacle. Earlier this year, Senator Bato Dela Rosa was denied entry to the United States because of the latter's involvement to the drug war. Senator Bato was the national police chief when Duterte's bloody and murderous drug war started operations. Because of this rejection, he aired his concerns to the President, and the President told the US embassy to approve the visa. Are we in kindergarten school?
9. Duterte’s addresses a.k.a late-night talks. All talks during the pandemic was aired at 11 pm onwards, where most people are sleeping or couldn't care to open their televisions. Maybe our president loves to sleep so much that he sometimes forgets his responsibilities as the head of the country?
10. Personal exhibit at the HoR re: Kobe’s death. While it is normal to grieve the death of our idols, it is not okay to use the funds of the Filipino people for a personal exhibit at the House of Representatives. This time could have also been used to talk about matters needed to address the concerns of the Filipino people during the pandemic.
11. Always fighting the “Dilawans” albeit nonsense. Yet again, the Dilawan vs. DDS dichotomy is rife in almost all important issues. Why is this always the case? Isn't it normal to just love and show concern for the country without people speaking of political colors?
12. PhilHealth corruption issue. Filipino people pay for medical care benefits and subsidies while not knowing that these are embezzled by corrupt officials?
13. Reina Nasino and Baby River. This regime has jailed its political opponents or even those who just express their dissent. Political prisoner and activist Reina Nasino was one of them. When her newborn daughter, who was separated from her, died Reina wasn't even allowed to see Baby River without being surrounded by many police officials. This just proved how vile this regime is to even withhold that simple request from a grieving mother.
14. Re-opening of Boracay campaigns by Roque amidst the government’s mandate to stay home to prevent more spread of COVID-19. Why should the ordinary Filipino people be asked to observe the law while those in position and those with money and power are not asked to follow the same rules?
15. Mañanita celebrant Debold Sinas appointed as the new police chief. Debold Sinas previously violated the quarantine rules in the start of the pandemic as he invited countless people for his birthday party. This sparked criticisms from Filipino people. But this month, he was promoted and appointed by President Duterte as the new national police chief. What sorcery is this?
The list goes on and it’s impossible to exhaust all the possibilities. Every day, the people-in-position do unquestionable stuff that Filipinos think is impossible to do. Our expectations were low, but they worsened because of all the clownery that these officials do everyday. This will forever be written in history. Let’s just hope that the next generation will learn from our mistakes and continue to fight for their rights as Filipinos, and not be treated as second class citizens in their own motherland.
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