Chapter I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

Today, no country is spared of COVID-19, and all countries are coming up with

novel drastic measures to checkmate the spread among their citizens. These include

border closures, suspension of flights, partial or total lockdowns and curfews, with

unbearable consequences on their citizens. In the Philippines, a state of emergency

was declared because Covid-19 constitutes a grave danger of unimaginable quantum,

which must be dealt with decisively without any delay (The Guardian, 2020a).

Curfew has been implemented as a restriction that more often used in natural

disasters, or to quell unrest, and has never been tested against a pathogen like the

virus. It requires people to be indoors during certain hours. With coronavirus infections

rising and a contagious new variant threatening to accelerate the pandemic, many

country has implemented a stringent curfew. Citizens nationwide are sequestered

indoors, and businesses must close down.

During the curfew time, no one was allowed to move except the medical and

nursing staff, police, and the armed forces. The government announced that these

nationwide curfews will enable epidemiological investigation teams to trace patients'

contacts and test them. Moreover, the complete curfew promotes social distancing and

minimizes the number of new infections.

While mathematical modelling can help evaluate the likely impact of different

strategies in implementing curfew, demonstration of efficacy comes when these

approaches are still debated to be implemented in the field. Therefore it is critically need

1
to determine from local experiences of epidemic management which set of interventions

may be sufficient for the control of a SARS-CoV-2 epidemic while having the lowest

societal cost.

Due to this, the researchers became interested to conduct study to identify the

resident perception and level of acceptance on curfew hours during this pandemic in

General Santos City.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to investigate the resident perception and level of acceptance on

curfew hours during this pandemic in General Santos City.

Specifically the researcher sought to find out the answer of the following

questions:

1. What are the resident perception about the implementation of curfew in General

Santos City during this pandemic?

2. What does the level of acceptance of the citizens of General Santos City

regarding city wide curfew?

3. Is there any significant difference in the extent the resident perception and level

of acceptance on curfew hours during this pandemic in General Santos City?

Hypothesis

There is no significant difference in the extent of the resident and evel of

acceptance on curfew hours during this pandemic in General Santos City.

2
Theoretical Framework

Social marketing could be used to achieve the willing acceptance, cooperation

and support of a populace towards the COVID-19 lockdown and curfews. This has been

proved true in many health communications’ and intervention studies. Kotler & Zaltman

(1971), says that social marketing involves the designing, implementing and controlling

of social programs in order to influence their acceptability by target publics. It includes

the marketing of social ideas through product designing, pricing, communication,

distribution and research. Therefore, social marketing tools are used to change the

negative or undesired attitudes and behavior of a target populace in the desired positive

direction. So, social marketing encourages people to adopt social behavior that will be

beneficial to all in society.

Social marketing has been successfully used in the health areas like HIV/AIDS

campaigns, to achieve desired behavior changes amongst the populace. Social

marketing campaigns have also been used as a financial costs reduction tool in the

health arena in some countries. For instance, social marketing has been used to

improve maternal and child health, leading to increased patronage of health care

centers, reduced complicated deliveries, improved newborn cares, and increased

vaccination with consequent decline in medical bills, maternal and infant mortality rates

(Seetharam et al., 2014).

Hence, social marketing could also be used for effective public enlightenment

(Odigbo et al., 2016), on the dangers of the coronavirus, the preventive measures

3
against it, the proper things to do when contracted, the “dos and don’ts” over it, and the

truths regarding the myths and rumors, so as to achieve a smooth public acceptance of

the lockdown enforcements by law enforcement officers, and forestall the ugly civilian-

police confrontations that have culminated into avoidable deaths in some countries.

The 8Ps of social marketing-mix elements that could be deployed in effective

implementation of health communications (Odigbo, 2016), therefore, also for the covid-19

lockdown and curfew enforcements include: the product (e.g. COVID-19 personal

protective equipment, vaccines, gloves, face masks, sanitizers, etc.); the price (e.g.,

going to health centers, receiving a COVID-19 test, staying in isolation centers, social-

distancing from friends and well-wishers, even family members in extreme cases,

obeying stay-at-home orders, complying with law enforcement officers, government and

health personnel controlling the covid-19, willing acceptance of business closures, job

stoppages, and other deprivations); the place (different testing locations, hospitals,

health centers, residential areas, etc.); the promotion (hand-washing, social-distancing,

coronavirus test, anti-COVID-19 behavior ethics, and cooperation with governments,

law enforcement agents and healthcare personnel); the policy;  internal and external

funding; and partnership with global cooperation with the World Health Organization,

other countries and international organizations.

A careful implementation of all these will bring about the willing cooperation and

positive behavioral changes and attitudes of the populace towards COVID-19

lockdowns and curfew implementation.

4
Conceptual Framework

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Extent the resident Curfew hours during

v
perception and level of pandemic
acceptance

Figure 1. Schematic showing the variables of the study

Significance of the Study

By nature and purpose of this study, the results or findings of the study will bear

significant contributions to the following:

Community. The study will serve as a help the community to understand the

importance of implementing curfew hours when such emergency transpires. This will

help them knows their rights and also be a helping hand to the government to acquire

and ease a pandemic.

5
 Government. The study will be a guideline to the government for the purpose of

hearing the public views of the implementing rules and regulations of curfew.

Other Researchers. This study provided baseline data needed for further study

and acquire more knowledge in conducting research, put in practice what they had

learned in their subjects and develop their communication skills.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study will look into the resident perception and the level of acceptance on

curfew in General Santos City during this pandemic.

This study was only limited to the residents of General Santos City who will be

chosen through simple random sampling. The responses of the respondents were

treated with statistical analysis such as frequency, percentage and correlative

coefficient.

Definition of Terms

Curfew – This term refers to was an order specifying a time during which certain

regulations apply. Typically it was the time when individuals had to stay indoors. Such

an order may be issued by public authorities but also by the owner of a house to those

living in the household. Curfews were a common element of control used in during a

social unrest, though curfews can also be implemented for public safety in the event of

a disaster, pandemic, or crisis.

6
 Resident Perception – This term refers to the state of being or process of

becoming aware of something that is happening around them. It will definitely evolved in

the event of understanding the curfews impact toward their every lives.

Level of Acceptance - This term refers to the act of approval of an individual in

dealing with the rules and regulations implemented by the government during curfew

hours.

7
 Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Foreign Literature

Health experts have identified some risk factors for the COVID-19 through

meta-analysis and systematic reviews. For instance, it is reported that areas with

frequently high levels of air pollution coupled with low wind speeds had higher numbers

of COVID-19 related infected individuals and deaths. This is because heavy

concentrations of air pollutants induce serious damages to individuals’ immune

systems, which consequently weakens the body’s capacity to withstand infectious

diseases like COVID-19 (Glencross et al., 2020).

The direct impacts of the pandemic and the strict restrictions such as social

distancing and isolation increased the risk of mental health issues such as anxiety and

depression. Studies show evidence of the increased risks of depression and anxiety.

stress, and other psychological problems during the pandemic. The association

between psychological outcomes and COVID-19 are linked to disruptions in the usual

ways of living, working, and learning. Apart from these disruptions, the pandemic

induced panic and fear among people, whether fear of getting infected or losing a family

member, fear of losing jobs and financial stability, or feeling lonely and isolated.

Uncertainties about the future due to the prevailing conditions further intensify the

emotional difficulties caused by family stress, job losses, and increased physical and

verbal abuse observed in some countries (Sifat 2020).

Considering the devastating current and long-term impact of COVID-19 on

mental health and wellbeing, governments, healthcare systems, educational institutions,

8
organizations, and non-governmental organizations are looking into interventions to

mitigate the looming mental health crisis.

People react to public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic in

both adaptive and maladaptive ways. According to Brailovskaia and Margraf, how

people react determines the impact of the pandemic on their health. Those who react in

adaptive ways tend to acquire a good knowledge of the modes of disease transmission

and signs and symptoms of the virus. This group of people attempt to maintain their

daily routines and, when possible, adapt to accommodate the prevailing life conditions.

On the contrary, a maladaptive reaction to the pandemic is linked to an increased

psychological burden due to increased uncertainties and anxiety resulting from the

curfew and new living conditions. Mass media and social media have been implicated in

both reactions (Brailovskaia 2020).

Individual reactions to a disease threat are products of a wide range of factors.

For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) referred to the infodemic, defined

as “too much information including false or misleading information in digital and physical

environments during a disease outbreak,” that was identified as a significant contributor

to the confusion, risky health behaviors, and mental health problems that people faced

during the pandemic. Therefore, media coverage may cause an under or overestimation

of disease risk or severity with probable severe health impacts. On the other hand,

accurate information allows individuals to obtain sufficient knowledge to safeguard their

health and wellbeing during the pandemic.

According to the Health Belief Model, the perceived severity and susceptibility

explain how individuals’ beliefs predict their response to a disease. Depending on how

9
much an individual feels susceptible or likely to suffer significant harm from an illness,

one may adopt or disregard health-protecting behaviors. Petrie and Weinman found that

the perception of illness influenced individuals’ emotional response to a disease threat,

coping behaviors, and adherence to protective and preventive measures. For instance,

Kim et al. found that individuals who perceived themselves as at low risk of contracting

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) did not trust the government’s ability to

control Sustainability 2021, 13, 8464 3 of 16 the disease and were dismissive of

measures to prevent the disease. Other constructs within the Health Belief Model are

the perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self efficacy. This theoretical framework

informs the rationale for measuring Kuwaiti residents’ perceptions of COVID-19 to

elucidate the factors influencing changes in their behaviors during the pandemic and

consequent psychological and social impacts (Rosenstock 1994).

Reports indicate that many countries are implementing the COVID-19 lockdown

with significant cases of human rights abuses. For instance, just two weeks after the

imposition of lockdown and curfews, security forces enforcing it killed 18 Nigerians,

while COVID-19 killed 12 persons within the same. It was reported that six people lost

their lives in Kenya due to police brutality within the first 10 days of COVID-19 dusk-to-

dawn curfew in that country. So also with Iran. In Sri Lanka the lockdown was allegedly

used to implement press censorship and curtail public free expression (Ganguly, 2020;).

In the Central Asia region countries of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and

Kyrgyzstan, reports have it that there were abuse of human rights in governments’

responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. These came in form of limited access to

information on the levels of spread of the virus in those countries, and imposition of

10
restrictions on the reportage by anyone. Some of the governments used it to

clampdown on journalists, perceived enemies, health personnel, social activists, and

also implemented quarantine measures in harsh and arbitrary ways. Other governments

hiding under COVID-19 lockdown, used it to suppress activists’ and journalists’ freedom

of expression rights. In other countries, the COVID-19 lockdown implementation has

been turned into a killing spree by trigger-happy law enforcement officers. Yet in some

countries, vulnerable populations, like women and children, face increased risk of

abuses, domestic violence, sexual abuse and rape during the lockdowns and curfews,

while prisoners in some countries are exposed to dire threats to their (Alindogan, 2020).

The UN has warned tacitly that some countries are flouting peoples’ human

rights in the guise of checkmating coronavirus spread, and called this “a human rights

disaster”. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle

Bachelet, such countries should desist from infringing on peoples’ fundamental rights in

the implementation of their emergency measures. This warning was followed by a UN

report which mentioned 15 countries where allegations of COVID-19 lockdown

enforcement human rights abuses were rampant. The countries said the report include:

Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, the Dominican

Republic, Peru, Honduras, Jordan, Morocco, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Iran and Hungary.

The UN highlighted that in some of the listed countries, security agencies used

excessively crude force to ensure compliance to lockdowns and curfews (Human Rights

Watch, 2020).

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, one of the international

human rights laws, states that when restrictions on rights are occasioned by public

11
health or national emergency concerns, it must be implemented in a lawful, inevitable,

and commensurate manner. Under this, people are guaranteed their rights to health,

even to the highest possible standards. This places on governments, obligations to

ensure the prevention of diseases and to provide medical care to the public.

Article 4 of the ICCPR human rights law also says that in the event of serious

public health emergencies, stepping down on some rights may be justifiable, only when

they are strictly inevitable, but must not be arbitrary or discriminatory in the

implementation, and of limited timeframe. It must also respect human dignity, open to

review, and targeted at achieving the set health objective(s), and have a legal

basis. ICCPR (1976b) in Article 7 decries torture, cruelty, inhumanity or demeaning

treatments or punishments on anyone. Article 9 (1) of the ICCPR states that people

must be given their rights to liberty and security of persons, and that no person shall be

deprived of this right, except strictly within the ambits of established rule of law.

Local Literature

It was the third week of April 2020, five weeks since Metro Manila and other

provinces were put under “enhanced community quarantine” (ECQ). Under ECQ, school

and university classes were suspended, mass gatherings were prohibited, government

offices were run with a skeletal workforce, businesses were closed except for those

providing essential goods and services, mass transportation was restricted, and people

were ordered to observe social distancing measures and to stay at home.

The Philippine response to COVID-19 has been described as being one of the

longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. Entire provinces and cities were put into

lockdown, mobility was restricted, and the wearing of masks and social distancing were

12
strictly enforced. Violations were met with punitive action. The government relied heavily

on the police and the military to ensure that order was maintained and that all health

protocols were followed. This has led some observers and scholars to describe the

government response as either “draconian,” “militarised,” or “police-centric” (Maru,

2020). For the government, these measures were all part of the nation’s “war” against

COVID-19.

In this article, the government’s draconian response was a consequence of

securitizing COVID-19. In this process, the virus was perceived as an “existential threat”

that (Buzan et al., 1998: 21). The securitization of COVID-19 was produced by framing

the pandemic response as a war against a so-called “unseen enemy.” To wage this war,

the government required extraordinary powers and the unconditional co-operation of

Filipinos. Consequently, this war-like narrative produced oppositional archetypes. These

archetypes were perceived to either contribute to or derail governmental efforts to win

the war. Contributing to the war was the virtuous archetype embodied by healthcare

professionals, frontline workers, police, military, so-called “homeliners,” and law-abiding

citizens. On the other hand, was the errant archetype embodied by the “pasaway.” The

term “pasaway” is a Filipino word loosely refers to an importunate, stubborn, or

obstinate person. Amid the lockdown, the term pasaway referred to people violating

government-imposed health protocols. Feared for spreading the virus, the pasaway

became the bane of the government’s pandemic response. In many ways, the

government’s war against COVID-19 has also sought to “salvage” the virtuous from the

pasaway.

13
 On 16 March 2020, President Duterte put Metro Manila and the entire island

group of Luzon under the “enhanced community quarantine” – or the total lockdown of

the largest island group in the Philippines. Soon after, major cities were also put under

lockdown. Unlike his nonchalant tone weeks prior to this, Duterte shockingly said, “We

are in the fight for our lives. We are at war against a vicious and invisible enemy, one

that cannot be seen by the naked eye. In this extraordinary war, we are all soldiers”

(Presidential Communications Operations Office, 2020a).

Immediately, the police and military were brought in to impose lockdown

measures. Images of special action forces operating checkpoints reinforced by their

armored personnel carriers (APCs) or tanks were a common sight (Mayol et al., 2020).

Lockdown and curfews measures were implemented notwithstanding issues or

concerns relating to income, livelihood, food security, space, population density. While

lockdown measures were implemented indiscriminately, it was noticeably more intense

in places where population density was high, namely urban poor areas.

The Manila Times columnist Makabenta (2020) described the composition of the

IATF-EID as “the oddest task force to fight the pandemic, a squad full of soldiers without

a single epidemiologist.” On 24 March 2020, Congress granted President Duterte

emergency powers through Republic Act 11469, otherwise known as the Bayanihan to

Heal as One Act. The law allowed the government, among other things, to provide

emergency subsidy6 to 18 million low-income households, re-appropriate and re-align

the 2020 national budget, direct the local government units to comply with national

government guidelines, and direct the operations of privately owned hospitals and

health facilities to combat COVID-19.

14
 Suffice to say, the lockdown and curfew was difficult especially for the poor. Their

situation was further exacerbated by the slow distribution of emergency subsidies under

the government’s Social Amelioration Programme (SAP). While the delivery of subsidy

was running at a glacial pace, it became apparent that much of the government

response was focused on containment and law enforcement strategies. Amid the

pandemic, the police began arresting people. Among those arrested were the so-called

“San Roque 21,” residents of Sitio San Roque, Quezon City, who (on 1 April 2020)

gathered alongside Epiphanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) after receiving news that

relief goods were to be distributed. While some residents of Sitio San Roque queued for

relief distribution, the police came and arrested twenty-one residents. They were

arrested for allegedly violating curfew rules. The San Roque 21 were later charged with

violating the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act but were later released through bail

amounting to 17,500.00 Philippine peso (approximately USD 350.00) per person.

Several days after, the police raided the soup kitchen feeding the residents of Sitio San

Roque and tore down placards protesting or pleading for help from the government.

In many ways, the Philippines has ostensibly fought the virus with an iron fist.

The message to maintain discipline and follow the government’s orders has been

repeated constantly since the President began his weekly address to the nation on 12

March 2020. Drawing from the president’s threat to impose martial law-like lockdown

measures, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Archie Gamboa gave the order to

undertake mass arrests. Soon after, the PNP Chief announced that quarantine and

curfew violators will no longer be warned; instead, they will be arrested immediately and

will be brought to court for inquest proceedings. By the end of April 2020, 156,000

15
individuals had been apprehended since lockdown and curfew measures were imposed

on 15 March 2020; 41,000 of them were charged, while the rest were released with a

warning (Biong, 2020).

16
 Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the research design, locale of the study, respondents and

sampling used and statistical treatment of data.

Research Design

In order to see the materialize this study about resident perception and the level

of acceptance on curfew hours during the pandemic in General Santos City. The study

had used the descriptive method of research which is a definite procedure to

characterize, describe, and classify data or materials needed in relevance to the study.

It also included proper scrutiny and interpretation of all insights that will be collected.

According to Jessy S. Barrot (2017) on his book entitled Practical Research 2,

descriptive research design also aims to observe and report on a certain phenomenon,

type of behavior, or trait as it takes place or manifests itself. The researcher achieves

this objective by using rating scales to measure the variable as they occur. One

limitation of the descriptive research design is its inability to establish causal

relationship, that is, one variable cannot be claimed as the cause of one variable. This is

why the descriptive research design in used when little is known about a topic or when

the study is exploratory in nature.

Locale of the Study

The usual routes to gathering resident feedback are to carry out specific survey

work and by visiting a range of local community settings to reach many people to

17
participate with the survey. Lockdown, and social distancing have meant we needed to

adapt our methods.

The study was conducted at General Santos City, particularly the two barangay

namely; Barangay Dadiangas South and Barangay Mabuhay. The researcher choose

this location because of its strategic location which to know the also the difference in a

community with many population like Barangay Mabuhay who is not in the center of the

city.

Research Instrument

The researchers prepare the draft of the questionnaire and submitted to

the adviser and research professor for the revision and improvement. The questionnaire

was based also on the literature and study presented in chapter one. In the

process of reviewing the literature, the researchers stumbled upon instrument which fit

purposes of the study. In the problem changes in these ready: made instruments are

demanded and have to construct the instrument itself.

Questionnaire checklist. The questionnaire was the main tool used by this study

in data gathering. Questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of series of

items and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from the

respondents. This tool used by the researcher because it

does not require much effort like verbal or telephone surveys and it has standardized

answer.

Interview. The interview technique used to complement the gathering of the data

for the study. Interview provides information which may be confidential

18
Respondents and Sampling Used

The researchers will use a probability sampling procedure in choosing the

respondents. Particularly, the simple random sampling using the Slovin’s formula.

Random respondents will be chosen at the two Barangays in General Santos City

including 50 residents at Barangay Dadiangas South and 50 residents at Barangay

Mabuhay.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher will observed the following procedure in data gathering:

A. Asking permission to conduct the study. The researcher will write a letter to

the two Barangay Captains asking permission to conduct the study inside the

jails’ jurisdiction.

B. Analysis and interpretation of data. The researcher will gather and analyzed

the data gathered using the appropriate statistical tools.

Statistical Treatment of Data

The researcher will use the frequency distribution (percentage distribution) and

the computation of the weighted average mean (WM). These statistical tools will be

used to come up with the summary of the results of the survey. Thus, these results will

be tabulated and interpreted according to the problems of the study being identified.

Formula for WM:

WM = Zwf

19
Where:

WM = Weighted Average Mean

W – Weight assigned to each response

F – Frequency of responses to a specific item

20
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