When the Philippine Department of Health reported Saturday, March 20, the 7,999 new COVID-19 infections, some parts of the Twitterverse and FB world went abuzz. Many were and are asking: Ano yan, promo? Nahiya pang gawing 8,000?
Even former Senator JV Ejercito joined the fray saying “Parang presyo sa SM, di pa pinaabot ng 8k, 7999 only!”
With the new record-breaking numbers that started Thursday, the Duterte Government, through the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases, issued again a new resolution regulating travels and placing the National Capital Region (NCR) and at least four provinces around Metro Manila in General Community Quarantine (GCQ). And then, there was a proposal to issue new community quarantine gradations — “Hard GCQ” or “Soft MECQ”.
But, will names and new gradations of community quarantines make sense? Will the new names and gradations decrease the number of COVID-19 cases? The answer is a resounding “No!”
If the Duterte Government is serious in ending COVID-19, all it takes is going beyond the stupidity and personal interests of those holding the reins of power. If the leaders lead by example, if they are accountable for their actions and shun away rationalization, we don’t need those gradations and levels of quarantine. Ang problema, maraming incompetent na nga kapit-tuko pa sa puwesto. In Japan, those who are incompetent do harakiri. They have no room for hariruki.
Polevu 