THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

This chapter consists of the introduction, significance of the study, statement of the

problem, and scope and delimitation of the study.

Introduction

There has never been a pandemic on the scale that most people now have ever observed

in the past centuries until the development of Coronavirus disease 2019, commonly known as

COVID-19. In the Philippines, it has been roughly two years since the country has been fighting

the pandemic. The government's response and resistance to the evolving virus have been

controlled by repressive lockdowns, a relentless economic activity freeze, and primarily

intuition-based judgments for more than a year (Labastida, 2021). With all of the risks and

disruptions generated by the COVID-19, it has increased in relevance as a source of concern for

people. It has been only a month since the disease arrived in the country and Health Secretary

Francisco T. Duque III already assured the Filipino that the Department of Health (DOH) was on

top of the situation (Department of Health, 2020). However, such events in the country speak

another way. The Philippine pandemic officials stated that the country's first batch of

coronavirus vaccines is most likely to be delivered in the mid of February 2021 but due to

paperwork, its arrival was delayed (Tomacruz & Rey, 2021). This event added to the distress of

other Filipino who worry about when they will be able to leave their homes. Even if the country

had enough supply of the vaccine in the present days, many Filipinos are still in doubt of the

government plans for the country amidst the pandemic. To support this, the article written by

Atienza (2021) included the Viber message of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and

Industry Acting President Edgardo G. Lacson, where the latter specifically asserted that the

unstable government policies might cause a severe financial cost on business enterprises. The
same article further suggests that the credibility of the government’s pandemic response could be

significantly affected by the last-minute changes in quarantine rules, which thus, affects the

future.

With all of the risks and disruptions generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has

increased in relevance as a source of concern for the Philippine Government. Due to the

increasing cases of COVID 19 in the country, the government was forced to implement protocols

and develop plans and strategies to prevent the worsening of the problems. However, things

didn't go as they planned. Community lockdown implemented by the government resulted in

around 4.2 million families experiencing hunger in May, as the pandemic dragged on and kept

Filipinos unemployed (Social Weather Station, 2021). Moreover, another movement done by the

government was the implementation of a social amelioration program which was supposed to

grant 18 million families aid ranging from P5,000 to P8,000. However, several households have

complained that they have yet to receive cash aid from the government (Lalu, 2020).

The COVID 19 pandemic has been an enemy for the majority of the countries. However,

dealing with the same problem doesn't mean obtaining a similar result. A negative effect

observed in the Philippines clearly provides a gap with other related countries including Canada.

The government in this country formulated a COVID-19 Economic Response Plan to give

support to their people and business sectors. This is to provide comfort for their people who face

rough days due to the COVID 19 outbreak (Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan,

2021). Even though Canada also faced economic downfall, they still manage to provide aids for

the needs of their people as quickly as possible. In New Zealand, the government gave

importance to speed. They believed that speed could indicate a higher level of success against the

COVID 19 pandemic. As stated by Dr. Bloomfield, the faster you can locate the cases, isolate
them, and trace their close relationships, the more successful you'll be [World Health

Organization (WHO), 2020]. Accurately, the country obtained early success in controlling the

pandemic. On the contrary, Philippine Senator Francis Tolentino described the government's

response in the country as hit-and-miss in some areas (Fernandez, 2021). Tolentino emphasized

the need for the government to shift to another gear as success against pandemics seems to get

blurry. Further indicating that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious

Diseases failed to do much for the country.

In this view, the present study is motivated to contribute to the general knowledge about

people in the field of psychology, and in the community with regards to the human context

during the pandemic. Moreover, the study aims to describe the implications of the government's

response — towards the COVID 19 pandemic — on the lived experiences of the general public.

Significance of the Study

The results of the study will be beneficial to the following:

General Public. The general public, as a member of the society that has been directly

affected by the administered movements of the government in coping with the COVID-19

pandemic, will greatly benefit from the outcome of this research. The study will reveal their

experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be used by the government in

addressing the needs of its people. Thus, the people will be able to receive proper aid to their

problems and struggles in the time of the pandemic.

Government. The sudden appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the

government to take action, thus, leading to a substandard movement to some aspects, which

directly influences the people’s trust towards them. The study will unveil the context of the
people’s trust in the government, which may help the latter to understand what to do, what to

change, or where to focus on. When concerning factors are addressed, the government may be

able to secure and maintain the trust of its people.

Future Researchers. Future researchers, who are planning to conduct a study in the

same field, will considerably benefit from the result of the present study. This study will allow

future researchers to have insights and establish familiarity in the context of the similar field

before conducting a new investigation. Further, this will motivate them to conduct a study

focusing on the untold matters in the study.

Statement of the Problem

This study intends to describe the implications of the government's response to the

general public’s lived experiences amidst the COVID 19 pandemic.

Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:

1.What are the experiences of the general public regarding the government’s response towards

the COVID-19 pandemic?

2. What are the challenges faced by the general public regarding the government’s response

towards the COVID-19 pandemic?

3. How do the general public cope with the challenges given by the government’s response

towards the COVID 19 pandemic?

4. What grounded theory may be developed from the findings of the research?

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study intends to describe the implications of the government's response to the
general public’s lived experiences amidst the COVID 19 pandemic. The researchers will conduct

this study because they pay attention to the relevant issues occurring today, specifically how the

response of the government against the COVID 19 pandemic will affect the day-to-day living of

the general public.

In this study, the researchers will conduct an interview to unveil the lived experiences,

challenges, and coping mechanisms of the respondents. To establish a criteria, respondents

should be currently staying in Bulacan; living with their families; currently working or recently

lost a job; and currently running a business or recently lost a business amidst pandemic.

This study will be conducted during the school year 2021 - 2022.