Makabayan: Why extend President’s powers if COVID-19 response has been ineffective?
MANILA, Philippines – There is no point in extending the emergency powers granted to President Rodrigo Duterte because his administration has not mounted an efficient and comprehensive COVID-19 response, the House of Representatives’ Makabayan bloc said.
According to the lawmakers, proposals to extend the powers provided by the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, or Republic Act No. 11469, have no weight because the government has been slow in implementing its various programs — from the social amelioration program and the mass coronavirus testing.
“Despite these sweeping powers, the President has failed to come up with a comprehensive, timely, and effective response to contain the pandemic once draconian lockdown measures are lifted,” the lawmaker said.
“The Duterte administration has only shown the people snail-paced action on the matter of health and socio-economic solutions […] The administration had much time in its hands—going on 10 weeks now—yet it has failed to effectively implement the medical strategies that ought to stop infection and spread of COVID, namely, mass testing, contact tracing, isolation, and treatment,” they added.
On Tuesday, Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez filed House Bill No. 6811, which seeks to amend R.A. 11469 and extend its effects for three months — for a total of a six-month period. It has been over two months since that law was enacted by Congress in a special session.
Rodriguez reasoned out that the reason behind this extension was the appearance of new COVID-19 cases, which as of Wednesday was at 15,049 cases nationwide, with 904 deaths and 3,506 recoveries.
While this number pales in comparison with that of other countries with over 100,000 cases, people fear that the Philippines is vulnerable to such high infection rates.
But the Makabayan bloc noted that people had been suffering from the lockdowns due to COVID-19, but the government had not capitalized on the expired enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) enforced over Luzon and other areas.
The Makabayan bloc is composed of Bayan Muna Reps. Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, and Eufemia Cullamat; Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas,; ACT Rep. France Castro; and Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago.
When the ECQ was implemented, work and school were suspended and people were asked to stay at home to avoid local transmissions. This has left workers who rely on daily earnings and those who cannot adjust to a work-from-home scheme without income through the lockdown.
“Mass testing remains a dream, with a nationwide testing rate last week of less than 10,000, far from IATF’s claims of a testing capacity of over 30,000. Confirmatory tests for some 6,835 individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 remain pending,” Makabayan claimed.
“Such weak testing means that an untold number of Filipinos who are suspect cases are not being tested, and therefore we are still blind as to the true scope of infection in our country,” they explained.
Makabayan named other issues that lead to the national government’s supposed failure to address the people’s concerns.
Among these were the alleged weaponization of the law against people who criticize the government and President Rodrigo Duterte himself, for letting administration officials who had violated quarantine regulations get away scot-free.
“The Makabayan bloc maintains that emergency powers for President Duterte should not be extended for one second longer. Indeed, since day one, the so-called ‘Bayanihan to Heal as One Act’ has never been necessary,” they insisted.
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