Many health experts believe that the new strain of coronavirus likely originated in bats or

pangolins. It is called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus causes
coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). The first transmission to humans in Wuhan, China was learned on 31
December 2019. Since then, the virus has mostly spread through person-to-person contact.

Covid-19 affected the whole world. The virus spread globally for a short period of time. As of
today, some countries are already covid-free and other areas affected are gradually recovering by
applying safety protocols and providing funds for equipment and other things that would help in order
to make the countries free from COVID-19

The Philippine government and private donors stepped up with billions of pesos worth of aid to
address the COVID-19 crisis. President Rodrigo Duterte asked Congress for special powers in March. He
said he needed the authority to reallocate funds under the 2020 national budget so that government
can respond to the public health emergency. The COVID-19 battle is funded largely by the government’s
₱600-billion war chest, with big businesses adding nearly ₱20 billion.

According to my research, The pandemic caused the Philippines’ economy to decline, with GDP
decreasing by 9.5% in 2020. When the tightest lockdown was implemented in the second quarter of
2020, GDP fell as low as -16.9%. The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic reduced foreign
direct investment (FDI) by 24.6% to 8.7 billion in 2019. To boost the economy, the government is relying
on foreign investment, and hopes to entice foreign investors to invest in the Philippines, using legislative
measures such as corporate tax cuts. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, the Philippines’ national debt
increased by 26.7% to P9.7 trillion in 2020. Revenue fell by 9% due to rising expenses. The Bureau of
Internal Revenue’s collections fell by 10.3%, and the Bureau of Customs’ collections fell by 14.7%,
resulting in an 11.4% reduction in tax revenues. The Philippine government faced a P1.37-trillion budget
deficit in 2020 due to higher expenses and decreased revenue.

As a developing country, the Philippines experienced some improvements in its healthcare

system over the past decade. Despite this, the country continues to face various challenges in its
response to public health emergencies. The available healthcare resources are focused in urban areas,
while rural areas experience a lack of available physicians. Although community health centers and local
healthcare workers comprise the primary care system in the nation, they are often poorly resourced
with limited surge capacity. Furthermore, while local government has disaster preparedness plans, these
plans are designed for natural calamities, which the country often experiences, rather than for disease
outbreaks.

In my perspective, I think that the virus would have been easier to control if the travel ban was
issued upon knowing the first case of COVID-19 which was on December 31,2019. The Philippine
government implemented travel restrictions on January 28, 2020 and I think it’s quite late. The first case
was reported on January 30, 2020. While the travel restriction prevented the spread of the virus,
travelers from areas that were not included on the list of restricted countries were not subject to
stringent screening and quarantine protocols. Meanwhile, those from restricted countries were
subjected to a 14-day quarantine, testing, and contact tracing. In the first few weeks after these
restrictions were put in place, the COVID-19 spread was delayed. However, as time passed, COVID-19
cases began to rise due to viral transmission within communities, particularly from people who had no
prior travel history. Additional measurements that were implemented included work-from-home
schemes, suspension of classes and distance learning instruction, closure of public transport and non-
essential business establishments, as well as physical distancing and the prohibition of public gatherings.
These measures successfully slowed the spread of the virus; however, it was difficult for the government
to enforce these restrictions for extended periods of time because of their severe economic impacts.

With what is said above, I conclude that the Philippines was not ready for a pandemic. The
disease surveillance system could conduct contact tracing and, for several months at the beginning of
the pandemic, only one laboratory was available for COVID-19 testing. Furthermore, the primary
healthcare system did not serve as a primary line of defense, which led infected people to flock to
hospitals in cities, thus overwhelming the healthcare system and critical care capacity. The lack of
pandemic preparedness had left the country poorly defended against the new virus and its devastating
effects. Investing diligently and consistently in pandemic prepared. The lack of pandemic preparedness
had left the Philippines poorly protected from the effects of SARS-CoV-2. The pandemic, therefore,
taught the Philippines, as well as many other nations around the world, that increasing its investment in
the modernization of hospitals and clinics is crucial for protecting its citizens against disease outbreaks in
the future. This investment should also be accompanied by the development of adequate surveillance,
testing, and contact tracing services.