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Agrarian Law and Social Legislation
Agrarian Law and Social Legislation
Submitted by:
Ana Leah Mamburam
Submitted to :
Atty. Ven Lorenz R. Carskit
June 29,2020
INTRODUCTION
After over a month without recording any cases, the Philippines had
confirmed its first local transmission on March 7, 2020, and since then, the virus
spread to the country with at least one case being confirmed in all of the country's
17 regions. Socio-economic status has been associated with the prevalence of
COVID-19 cases across the 17 regions of the country.
As of June 28, 2020, there have been 35,455 confirmed cases of the disease
in the country. Out of these cases, 9,686 recoveries and 1,244 deaths were
recorded. The Philippines has the third most number of COVID-19 cases in
Southeast Asia, 15th in Asia, and 38th in the world. The largest single-day increase
in the number of confirmed cases was reported on June 23, when the Department
of Health (DOH) announced 1,186 new cases.
The Philippines had a slightly lower testing capacity than its neighbors in
Southeast Asia especially during the first months of the pandemic in the country.
COVID-19 tests had to be taken outside the country due to the lack of testing kits.
This also has led to a controversy involving several government official which
were reported to had been tested without complying to the DOH's triage algorithm.
By the end of January 2020, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM)
in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila began its testing operations and became the first
testing center in the country.] Several subnational laboratories have been added
since then. As of June 27, the country has 63 subnational laboratories capable of
detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus and has conducted a total of 690,799 tests from
more than 636,291 unique individual.
Cases abroad involving foreigners with travel history in the Philippines were
reported in early March 2020. The first three recorded cases involving an
Australian, a Japanese, and a Taiwanese national had a history of visiting the
Philippines in February 2020. Though it was unconfirmed whether or not they had
contracted the virus while in the Philippines, speculations arose on undetected
local transmissions in the country due to prior confirmation of the Philippines' first
case of local transmission.
Several measures were imposed to mitigate the spread of the disease in the
country, including bans on travel to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and
South Korea. On March 7, 2020, the Department of Health (DOH) raised its "Code
Red Sub-Level 1," with a recommendation to the President of the Philippines to
impose a "public health emergency" authorizing the DOH to mobilize resources for
the procurement of safety gear and the imposition of preventive quarantine
measures.[21] On March 9, President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No. 922,
declaring the country under a state of public health emergency.
On March 12, President Duterte declared "Code Red Sub-Level 2," issuing a
partial lockdown on Metro Manila to prevent a nationwide spread of COVID-19.[31]
[32]
The lockdowns were expanded on March 16, placing the entirety of Luzon
under an "enhanced community quarantine" (ECQ).[33] Other local governments
outside Luzon followed in implementing similar lockdowns. On March 17,
President Duterte issued Proclamation No. 929, declaring the Philippines under a
state of calamity for a tentative period of six months.
On March 25, the President signed the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which
gave him additional powers to handle the outbreak President Duterte on April 7
accepted the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging
Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to extend the ECQ in Luzon until April 30.
On April 17, it was reported that the country has been able to bring down the
viral disease' reproduction number to 0.65 from 1.5, which means that the average
number of people a person can infect decreased from more than one to less than
one. Recent data at the time suggest that the country is doing better in "flattening
the curve",but was warned of "resurgence" and must ramp up mass testing in order
to isolate cases and avoid further transmission of COVID-19.
Sometime in late April, local government units (LGUs) were no longer authorized
to impose quarantine measures without the consent of the IATF-EID. Prior to that
period, LGUs could impose such measures in coordination with the Department of
the Interior and Local Government.
The ECQ in Luzon was extended until May 15 in some areas. This includes
Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Luzon (except Aurora), Pangasinan, and
Benguet. ECQ measures were also extended in the provinces of Iloilo and Cebu as
well as in Davao City. Other areas were downgraded or placed under general
community quarantine (GCQ).
After receiving petitions from LGUs, the IATF-EID revised its quarantine
policies yet again. Cebu City and Mandaue were placed under ECQ, while Metro
Manila, Laguna, and Central Luzon (except for Aurora and Tarlac) are all on
MECQ. The remaining parts of the country are still on GCQ.
Dr. Edsel Maurice Salvana, who is an IATF-EID member and the director of
the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of the
Philippines, said on May 20, that the strain of COVID-19 which arrived in the
country in March likely originated from India. The virus strain's family tree is said
by Salvana to have appeared in China and Australia.
On March 16, the president signed Proclamation No. 929 declaring a state of
calamity throughout the country for six months, bringing into effect the following:
President Duterte has signed administrative orders providing daily hazard pay
and additional special risk allowance to front line government officials and
employees including health workers. The office of Vice President Leni Robredo on
its part raised funding for personal protective equipment.
The Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare
and Development has started their own emergency cash subsidy programs.
In the House of Representatives, the bill was introduced as House Bill No.
6616 with House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano of Pateros–Taguig as its principal
sponsor and was defended on the floor by Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund
Villafuerte of Camarines Sur's 2nd district. In the Senate of the Philippines, the bill
was introduced as Senate Bill No. 1418 with Senate President Tito Sotto and
Senator Pia Cayetano as its principal sponsors.
The House version of the bill passed the House of Representatives in a 284–9 vote
without abstentions,[174] while its Senate version unanimously passed the Senate.
President Duterte signed the bill into law the following day.
Given the rapidly increasing number of cases in the country, the government
has initiated lockdowns aimed at preventing the spread of the disease.On March
12, President Duterte announced a partial lockdown covering Metro Manila, that
began on March 15. The lockdown was later expanded on March 16, when
President Duterte imposed an enhanced community quarantine covering the entire
Luzon, including outlying islands. The enhanced community quarantine restricted
travel and transportation within the island, imposed strict home quarantine among
all households, and the closure of all non-essential private establishments.
On April 7, President Duterte extended the duration of the enhanced
community quarantine on Luzon until April 30, following a recommendation from
the IATF-EID. On April 24, Duterte extended the enhanced community quarantine
until May 15, but only for Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon as well as
other areas in Luzon that are considered a high-risk for COVID-19. Local
governments units both within and outside Luzon has also imposed their own
quarantine measures.
On January 31, a travel ban on all Chinese nationals from Hubei and other
affected areas in China was imposed. The VUA program for Chinese tourists and
businessmen was also suspended. On February 2, a ban was introduced on all
foreign travelers who visited China, Hong Kong, and Macau in the past 14 days;
Philippine citizens and holders of permanent resident visas were allowed in the
country but subjected to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The Philippine
government also ordered a ban on travel to China, Hong Kong, and Macau until
further notice. The Philippine Ports Authority had also barred disembarkation by
crew or passengers from vessels that have recently visited China on all seaports it
control.[191] A ban was briefly imposed on Taiwan from February 10 to February
15. A travel ban to South Korea was also imposed for tourists.
Both the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National
Police (PNP) have been deployed by the national government as front liners in
addressing the pandemic. PNP Chief Archie Gamboa tasked his agency to increase
their visibility in various communities and to arrest individuals and groups
"without warning" involved in activities that violate quarantine protocols on
physical distancing and mass gatherings.[204] Border checkpoints maintained by the
AFP, PNP, and the Philippine Coast Guard were installed in areas with community
quarantine to control the traffic of people and goods and ultimately contain the
spread of the virus across regions during the pandemic.
The PNP have also been tasked to arrest individuals who hoard essential
goods in stores and to report firms that fail to comply with the directives of the
DTI by manipulating the prices of such goods during the pandemic. [206] The
Philippine Air Force and Philippine Navy have utilized their aircraft and vessels
for the delivery of personal protective equipment and medical supplies, as well as
the transportation of health personnel, to various locations around the country.
On March 24, the PNP launched a task force in collaboration with the
Department of Information and Communications Technology to search for and
apprehend peddlers of misinformation and fake news related to the pandemic, in
compliance with the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Bayanihan to Heal as One
Act. Both laws penalize fake news peddlers for a jail time of 12 years maximum or
a fine of up to ₱1 million ($19,770).
Since April 15, PNP personnel have donated portions of their salaries to the
Department of Finance to help sustain the national government's efforts in
addressing the pandemic. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III reported that, as
of May 6, the PNP has raised over ₱228.45 million ($4.5 million) worth of cash
donations.
The government of China and the United States has pledged support to the
Philippine government response against COVID-19. China announced that it
would be donating medical supplies including 100,000 testing kits, 100,000
surgical masks, 10,000 N95 masks, and 10,000 sets of personal protective
equipment. The United States Agency for International Development also pledged
$2.7 million worth of aid to help the Philippines develop adequate testing
capabilities, and ensure the availability of medical supplies through the agency's
"on-the-ground partners “China’s aid was received on March 21, 2020.
On March 22, the DFA said that the Philippines would be receiving a
donation from Singapore consisting of 3,000 testing kits and a polymerase chain
reaction machine. In early April 2020, the DFA announced it received 20 units of
testing kits, capable of 1,000 tests, from Brunei.[222] The United Arab Emirates also
donated medical supplies in May 2020. On March 28, it was disclosed that some of
the test kits made in China were only 40% accurate in testing for signs of the
COVID-19 on an individual suspected to be infected with the disease. The test kits
were donated by a private foundation
DISCUSSION
Situation Summary:
-Out of the total 31,825confirmed cases reported in the Philippines until today,
56% are male, with the most affected age group 30-39 years (23.1%) followed by
20-29 years (21.2%)
-Many new cases reported among repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW)
and Locally Stranded Individuals (LSI) due to poor adherence of proper prevention
measures during mandatory quarantine period
-Department of Health (DOH) emphasizing the need for increased control of
proper implementation of guidelines at LGU level
The global poll, which was conducted from April 3 to 19, asked 12,500 adult
respondents from 23 countries to rate their governments using four key indicators,
which include national political leadership, corporate leadership, community, and
media.
With an index score of 49, the Philippines ranked eighth in the list of 23 nations
where citizens assessed their governments’ Covid-19 containment measures.
The survey showed that 45 percent of Filipinos rated “highly” the Duterte
government’s efforts to combat Covid-19 while 37 percent also lauded the
corporate leaders’ amid the health crisis in the country.
Thirty-six percent of Filipinos were also happy with the community’s help while
78 percent believed the national media has performed responsibly during the
Covid-19 outbreak.
In my point of view, the Government gave its best to solve and curb the
pandemic. The first policy decision of the Philippine government was to impose
selective quarantine. It did so on 2 Feb 2020 for returning OFW, but was still open
to international air travel. On 7 Mar 2020, the first local transmission was reported
by the DOH of a patient who had no travel history and had comorbidities. The
Department of Health raised the alert level to Red sublevel 1 to anticipate the
increase of COVID19 cases locally. Upon the recommendation of the Health
Secretary, President Rodrigo R Duterte issued Proclamation 922 on March 8,
declaring a state of national emergency due to the threat of COVID 19. Under this
proclamation, all agencies are required to render full assistance in the response to
COVID 19. The Secretary of Health as the head of the Inter-agency Task Force for
Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) may call upon law enforcement
agencies to assist in the implementation of quarantine and other measures to
address the spread of disease. IATF-EID through Resolution No. 16 created a
technical working group (TWG) consisting of representatives from the government
departments and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
A good strategy of locking down those are with prevalent cases are helpful
to lower down the virus transmission. I observed a rigid implementation of
Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and travel restrictions which for is a
good sign that less covid cases will be reported.
The Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (BAHO) was
signed into law by.by President Duterte on March 24, 2020.It mandates application
of WHO recommendations to Philippine pandemic health management and policy.
It grants special powers to the executive department to provide public and private
hospitals with additional support such as procurement of additional equipment and
to engage temporary human resources such as additional doctors and staff. It also
directs hospitals and health care facilities to function as COVID 19 hospitals or
quarantine facilities, provides prompt testing for patients, provides compensation
insurance for front line health workers. It also provides social amelioration
financial assistance to low income household as well as enforce laws on
profiteering and price manipulation. But due to financial constrain, Government
cannot feed entirely the whole country. I believe when and if only we have enough
funds Pandemic will be easier to control.
1. Filipino health care plans specially conducting mass testing to prevent wide
spread of covid infection.
2. Improve medical facilities
3. Give more budget in the health care system
4. Upgrade the salary and benefits of the health workers
5. Planning of efficient and long-lasting solution to prevent and curb pandemic
6. Pandemic Act must be proposed by House of Representatives
7. Economic support to affected businesses and individual
REFERENCES
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590061720300521
https://covid19.healthypilipinas.ph/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_-
D3BRBIEiwAjVMy7HzuVYHxiXt78EBhNOHfYUossu2hgAGU-
023tIVB6XQ1Y0DLLbx7RRoCOAsQAvD_BwE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-
19_pandemic_in_the_Philippines#cite_note-191
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_government_response_to_the_COV
ID-19_pandemic
https://www.who.int/philippines/emergencies/covid-19-in-the-
philippines/covid-19-sitreps-philippines