Longest implementation of lockdown, vaccination rollouts, contract tracing, and checkpoints are various ways of the government in fighting against the viruses. However, day by day, active cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines continue to rise up, even though the government announces that we have been performing better than other countries particularly in Asia with their pandemic response. Yet, stated in Bloomberg’s resilience ranking [as cited in Neil, 2021] how come our country is ranked as second to the last out of 53 countries in terms of pandemic action? Indeed, one way to achieve development for our country is to be able to have better accountability, transparency and increased competitiveness through pushing suitable solutions and incentives during the pandemic specifically for the healthcare workers and system.
First, one of the greatest steps in pursuing development is for the administration to be held accountable with their actions, for they are responsible in contributing with our nation’s poor response to coronavirus. In fact, just recently Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque outburst his thoughts regarding doctors who opposed the government’s decision to relax the quarantine protocols in National Capital Region (NCR) to hopefully focus more on alleviating the plight of active cases. Imagine, the authority even has the audacity to get ahead of themselves, not thinking that they are not the ones who suffer tirelessly from accommodating and treating infected patients non-stop along with the overwhelming hospital admissions since the start of the pandemic. We will not be suffering the economic losses we are currently experiencing if we followed and listened to the experts and professionals in the medical field offering solutions beforehand. There is no doubt that people will be more productive and will get to encounter better economy if we have good public healthcare system.
Hence, our front-liners deserve more than just what they receive during these difficult times, they are also in need of help from the government to provide greater service for the people and obtain sufficient pays and benefits for them as well. Still, health workers are facing severe crisis with little to no improvements from the recent surge in this battle against COVID-19. Subsequently, according to the Commission on Audit (COA), the Department of Health had responsibilities that have not been paid such as for the consequential programs needed during the national emergency, amounting to 67 billion pesos. Surprisingly, we have public funds worth a billion that can strengthen our healthcare system and could have saved many lives, but where did the budget and resources of Department of Health go? This question remains unanswered. Truly, it is a struggle to achieve one’s development and progress when there is no transparency.
Lastly, I totally agree with the shift from globalization projects to sustainable ones for everyone seeks helpful and efficient solutions rather than for a short-term effectiveness. A great example of a failed project implemented by the government here is the rehabilitation in Manila Bay where they had built an artificial structure made in dolomite sand to supposedly protect the bay walk from extreme waves and elevated sea levels due to weather disruptions, as part of the administration’s 389 million peso-fund. This does not only harm and become ineffective to our environmental issues, but also an insensitive way of the government in response amid the pandemic. It is best for us to maximize in utilizing our resources for the family left hungry, for the children who need gadgets for education as they shift to distance education, for our healthcare workers and system, and many more during the pandemic, instead of wasting the money for aesthetic purposes with no benefits at all. Today, we should strive for sustainability rather than quick solutions to bigger problems.
As we get to know our social reality, we should understand that development is not just about material things provided in a surface level, but we should also think about the long-term benefits and purpose of it, on how it can affect us humans not just in our generation but with our soon-to-be children, grandkids, and so on. Thus, let us start from rethinking and re-evaluating our public officials who pledged to deliver their service for the people for they should be held accountable, provide us transparency and competitiveness with the right motive. As one said, the government is not to be blamed, but those who govern, so make sure the next time we vote, it shall be wisely, because the more we know what we truly deserve and make better decisions, the less regrets we get hold of.