Statement of Facts: governments.

It is becoming apparent to people how

committed their government is to discharging its
"State responsibility" was originally conceived as a set
responsibility to its constituents, which raises to the
of international rules governing States' international
question on whether or not the massive loss of lives
obligations in their relations with other States. In this
could be an attributable fault on the part of the State.
regard, the State's primary obligation is to pay
compensation or make reparation for injuries suffered Arguments:
by nationals of other States. From an injured State's
In the Philippine setting, it has become too obvious
point of view, State responsibility represented the
that the people are not convinced about the
State's power to protect its citizens outside its
seriousness of the governments’ efforts in its
national boundaries or a State's exercise of its right
response to the rising cases of the virus. Since its
and duty to do so. A State was traditionally
inception, the administration had even tried to
empowered to extend its diplomatic protection to its
downplay the hysteria as the Filipinos scrambled for
Citizens or nationals wherever they might be located,
protective, medical and sanitation equipment. The
including another State's territory. Conversely, a
President, himself, attempted to allay fears in early
State's exercise of diplomatic protection vis-a-vis an
February saying there was “nothing really to be
offending State was predicated upon the offending
scared of.” A month later, after much prodding, he
State's failure to meet the minimum international
was then persuaded to ban all tourists from entering
standard for "the treatment of aliens.
the country.
Beginning 1975, however, the scope of State
Moreover, the militaristic fashion that the
responsibility law has expanded far beyond the
government employed to implement quarantine
traditional notion. The current notion of State
protocols across the country is appalling. It has
responsibility has become a comprehensive regime of
become a common knowledge how the government
the law of obligations, covering general principles of
took advantage of the whole pandemic situation to
States' international responsibility, 'including primary
sow fear among its people. Some military personnel
rules that establish all types of internationally
were even reported to have committed abuses while
wrongful acts attributable to a State and secondary
on their post.
rules that flow as a legal consequence from a State's
breach of an international obligation, regardless of its But what’s very infuriating is that instead of focusing
origin. its efforts on COVID response, the administration took
the opportunity to get back on those in the
Evidently, state responsibility has progressed over
opposition. It started with the conviction of Maria
time. From the notion of a special regime of State
Resa of Rappler, the passing of the Anti-Terror Bill into
responsibility for injuries suffered by aliens on a
a Law, and the shutting down of the biggest network
State's territory, State responsibility has evolved into
in the country, the Abs-Cbn.
a comprehensive system of international
responsibility of a State, regardless of whether aliens Seemingly, the crisis, which left the Filipino people
or individuals are involved and regardless of injuries. grasping at straws, was due to lack of priority,
(Sompong Sucharitku, 1996) government officials tend to place more importance
to their own personal interests and personal vendetta
The crisis brought about by the Covid-19 had,
over their responsibility to respond to the crisis and
certainly, precipitated a clamor for accountability.
contain the virus at its early stages. To make matters
Undeniably, the pandemic had continued to make a
worse, the Health Secretary seemed to be in complete
crippling effect on every nations’ economic resources
denial of the real situation that the country is facing
and health systems. The virus has been spreading like
with the spike of cases. At multiple occasions, he was
wildfire globally, collapsing health systems, causing
reported to have claimed that the country has already
many avoidable premature deaths and much
flattened the curve but then later due to the negative
avoidable illness, and wrecking nations' economies
feedback of the people he was compelled to retract
and fiscal positions. Now, the people are asking for
his erroneous and self-preserving statements.
answers and culpability, and apparently, the easiest
target is not only China, but also their respective
Undoubtedly, the negligence of the authorities in
failing to keep up with the preventive measures of its
neighboring countries and grossly underestimating
the virus has caused the more and more burden to the
whole Filipino nation.
Apparently, the Philippines is not the only
government whose competence in covid response is
being questioned by its people. The list of countries
includes the Netherlands, USA, and other Developing
Countries in Asia.

Evidently, the countries with continued surge of cases

do not only include developing countries with poor
health systems. In fact, countries with higher
healthcare spending, like America, records 50,000-
80,000 daily number of cases, as of writing. From this,
it can therefore be surmised that the country’s health
system cannot guarantee a successful response to the
pandemic.
At this point, it is, obviously, the State’s manner of
addressing the crisis through the imposition of
measures to fight the spread of the virus and prevent
the massive loss of lives that really makes the
difference. Failure of a state to effectively respond to
the crisis would therefore give rise to potential liability
of governments in relation to negligence and
omissions with respect to COVID-19 measures.
State liability can arise if governments have been
negligent in addressing the threat of the COVID-19
pandemic, specifically where they have created risks
due to not implementing restrictions or not doing so
in a timely manner, or otherwise have failed to protect
public health and human lives.
Given the all-encompassing character of the state’s
role in combatting pandemics, an omission in this
respect is likely to be attributable to a state.