MAN-ON, Karleen Gayle Malate

Essay Question No. 2: COVID-19 has disrupted everyone’s activities. In response to the

crisis, governments across the globe have used their emergency powers, but the exercise of

emergency powers are not without issues from constitutional and human rights lenses. In

your view, how is law relevant or important in this health crisis? What is the role of rule of

law norm in battling the pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic enforced change upon society in a lot of ways. Its reach

trespassed beyond the borders of individual institutions of society beginning from the most basic—

the family unit—to the most complex—the government institutions. All over the world, people

scrambled for solutions to manage, if not totally dismiss, its effects to the individual, to the family,

to the established institutions, to the economy, and to the government. This pandemic is a cruel

surprise to all of us; every single one of us is caught unprepared.

However, looking through another lens, COVID-19 might actually be an effective measure

to test good governance. This pandemic, though very difficult to counter, turns out to be an acid-

test on the government as to how it upholds and defends the rule of law in a time where almost all

institutions of the society is forced into a halt, where the economy almost falls into a brink of

collapse, and where people are more or less succumbed to panic and despair.

In a time where everything else is being shaken, the rule of law must remain intact. The

strength of the government in a period of untimely emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic rests

on the stability and clarity of the already laid out laws and regulations on which the government

must adhere to in creating and implementing various policies to effectively respond to a crisis. The

1987 Philippine Constitution contains provisions with regards to national emergencies. First, the

Congress may authorize the President to exercise powers necessary to carry out a national policy.

Second, the State may for a time take over or direct the operation of any privately owned public
MAN-ON, Karleen Gayle Malate

utility or business affected with public interest. And third, the President can direct the armed forces

to suppress lawless violence, invasion, or rebellion, and in cases of invasion and rebellion, the

President can suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. These provisions in the

Constitution enabled the president to declare a state of public health emergency, and a nationwide

state of calamity resulting to the lockdown of Luzon and other provinces in the country. This

imposed strict limitations on the usual activities of the people as everyone is forced to stay at home.

And in order to further enforce home quarantine, public transportation is suspended, early curfew

hours were imposed, non-essential businesses closed, and strict checkpoints in every border were

placed. All this, to stop the spread of the virus.

However, despite the purity of the government’s intention to deal with this pandemic, the

exercise of these emergency powers are not without issues. Some raised concerns regarding its

risk of abuse. For example, as lockdowns are being declared in various cities, there had been

complaints on how the police are handling punishments for violators of various regulations, some

of which are deemed “unlawful” and unconstitutional and in breach of human rights. Some of

these punishments include forcing violators to sit under the sun for hours, do a number of push-

ups, while others were forced to sing or dance. Some were reported to have been locked up in a

dog cage, and another was put inside a coffin. These modes of punishment have invited criticism

as they are deemed humiliating and cruel. But some others applauded the uniqueness and creativity

of the authorities in implementing these pandemic-related regulations.

These issues may be difficult to avoid but the government must at all times protect and

defend the fundamental rights of the individual. To emphasize, the government’s strength and

effectivity in these times of emergency are founded on how strong it adheres and upholds the rule
MAN-ON, Karleen Gayle Malate

of law. The rule of law implies balance in the use of government powers, and placing a high regard

for fundamental rights of its citizens.