V.

Evaluation
Based on the issue that you have chosen, make an essay paper following these guide
questions:
1. What types of authority can be seen in the social issue?
2. How does the government address the social issue?

In these times of pandemic, people are wondering, is the Philippines efficient in battling

COVID-19? The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled several governments across the globe. Every

country experiences the same challenges. However, while neighboring countries from Southeast

Asia appear to be progressively healing from the obstructions brought upon by the pandemic, the

Philippines stayed stagnant and wounded. COVID-19 is a contagious disease that spreads in an

instant through droplets launched in the air. While everyone seeks to be safe, the vaccine for

COVID-19 has not yet been discovered. The Philippines, as a third world country, is the most

vulnerable as it is ill-equipped in the medical field—poor national health systems. The Philippine

government has been rational-legal in terms of its authority in implementing different safety and

health protocols. Drawing from experiences of previous pandemics, the Philippine government

responded to both developments by declaring a contact tracing and imposed a travel ban and ‘

enhanced community quarantine’ for the whole country. This enhanced community quarantine

consisted of the following measures: strict home quarantine in all households; suspension of all

forms of public transportation; implementation of a heightened presence of uniformed personnel

enforcing quarantine procedures; social distancing; suspension of classes; closure of sea, air, and

land travel; establishment of checkpoints for temperature screening; temporary closure of non-

essential business establishments; encouragement of work-from-home arrangements; and

prohibition of mass gatherings and non-essential public events. In addition, curfews were

implemented from 8:00 PM to 5:00 AM. Despite the different approach conducted, the
Philippines continuously struggle in public health due to its resource and capacity limitations

which affected the rapid spread of the virus due to its slow detection of the cases. During the

fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the Philippine President, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, he

admitted that though the Philippines took the early initiative to impose COVID-19 safety

protocols and lockdown on selected areas, the government’s overall response to the pandemic

has been far from perfect. In addition, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the entire

world, not just the Philippines, is not prepared for the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic which

has already infected over 1.3 million worldwide. Adding to the fact, the late Miriam Defensor

Santiago has filed a senate bill in the year 2013 that talks about strengthening national awareness

and responding to public health emergencies (Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act).

Through her proposal, it would be of great benefit, especially in this situation, to have a proper

system and patterns of handling the virus (Tan, 2020). Unfortunately, her proposed pandemic bill

was not taken into account, thus, the Philippines is unprepared in terms of handling the health

crisis even way before the pandemic occurred. In this light, this crisis has revealed the country’s

lack of preparedness in dealing with health emergencies on a national level. The government’s

low prioritization of the health sector, held the Philippines from advancing its efficiency in

battling COVID-19.