ROGATIONIST SEMINARY COLLEGE

65 Saint Hannibal Street, Merville Park, Paranaque City

(02) 544-3676; Email add.: rscmla@rcj.ph

Junwy Y. Atabay

Rogationist of the Heart of Jesus

Filipino’s fulfilling their duty in following the government health protocols through
Kant’s Concept of Duty.

Introduction

Since the siege of the Covid -19 pandemic, a lot of people are getting infected
by the Covid -19 virus and the cases are getting higher almost every day. As it gets
worse, the Philippine government implements different provisions or laws that will
help lessen the possible cases of the Covid -19 virus in the country and to lessen
some violators of the law. In addition, to be specific with the government protocols,
there are community quarantines, closing of establishments, and stopping of public
transportations.

In the 1997 Book of Kant entitled “Immanuel Kant’s Lecture on Ethics” that
the Concept of Duty does not mean that people would do their duty by force.
Although for Kant people are obliged to do their duty to learn. For Kant, a person
needs to do their duty because in fulfilling their duty they are helping themselves
and also other people1.

With these health protocols, there is a chance that Filipinos would be

enlightened and be discouraged to violate the laws because aside from it is for their
safety, it is also their duty as a Filipino to obey the laws that are for the safety of the
community, obeying these laws makes them fulfill their duty because they became
responsible in stopping the spread of Covid -192.

1 Kant, Immanuel, et al. “Of Laws.” Lectures on Ethics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.,
2001, pp. 64–65
2 International Development Law Organization, “Rule of Law in the Time of Covid-19: The
Philippines.”, Aug 6. 2020, https://www.idlo.int/news/notes-from-the-field/rule-law-time-covid-19-
 ROGATIONIST SEMINARY COLLEGE
65 Saint Hannibal Street, Merville Park, Paranaque City
(02) 544-3676; Email add.: rscmla@rcj.ph

In addition, Filipinos must help the government instead of violating it, they
should promote it to those people who is stubborn or hard to reprimand, in that
way as per the concept of Kant’s duty people are obeying the universal law in the
context of health protocols because

these protocols are not just present in the Philippines but rather it also almost the
same law that are implementing all over the world to fight against the Covid- 193.

This examination will proceed in three steps; (1) What are the health
protocols of the government for the Filipino people? (2) What is the concept of
Kant’s concept of Duty? And lastly (3) Why is not following the health protocol
immoral. In this way, Filipinos can fulfill their duty which is to lessen the case of
Covid -19 infections through the concept of the universal law of Kant’s concept of
Duty.

Immanuel Kant’s Concept of Duty

In the book of Kant entitled “Immanuel Kant’s Lecture on Ethics”, Kant

started this Concept of Duty through doing goodwill to others. In this way,
people are fulfilling their duty to do good deeds to other people. According
to Kant that actions that are performed because it is your duty that is
considered to have moral worth. Here Kant is explaining that it is important
that our actions are always in line with goodwill to be called or to consider
that our actions are based on duty. Because our actions will be based only on

philippines.

3 Cressman, Colleen, Allison Brown, & Joseph Kranak. “Kantian Deontology.” Introduction to
Philosophy Ethics. Rebus Community, December 9, 2019. https://press.rebus.community/intro-to-
phil-ethics/chapter/kantian-deontology/
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our will and not on our duty, then there is a tendency that our actions may
lead us to an immoral way of life4.

According to Kant’s concept of Duty, every person also has the duty to obey
this law because they can become an instrument of spreading the virus if they do
not obey this Universal Law. In the same way, it does not mean that our duty is
performed resentfully. It is not what Kant means in his concept of duty; he
discusses that an action although it may sound that people are being obliged to do
their duty, this concept mean that people are only encouraged to do their action
good so

that it would also be considered as part of their duty. Because Kant believes that
doing one’s duty is learning new things5.

Furthermore, Kant says in one of his quotations, “Act only to that maxim by
which you can at the same time will that it should become a Universal Law”. Kant
would say that maxim would mean that a person who believes in morality but does
not care about it at all, so Kant is saying that a person’s action should believe in
morality but would disregard at the same time so that it would become a universal
law. For Kant here, he is saying that in obeying and following the universal law we
should see on our actions whether it points to do what is good or it pertains to a law
on which it may be universal but it would harm the common good.

4 Lam, Ti. “Introduction to Philosophy.” Lumen, October 21, 2021,

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sanjacinto-philosophy/chapter/kantian-ethics-main-concepts/

5 Misselbrook, David. “Duty, Kant, and Deontology.” The British journal of general practice: the
journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Royal College of General Practitioners, Issue
no. 211, 2013. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609464/ .
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Moreover, Kant would claim that the maxim can be considered immoral if
our actions will contradict the universal law because maxim could lead our actions
to bad results, or in other words it can cause misunderstood of the law. He would
just say that not all laws are considered to be ethical to follow, sometimes we should
see first whether it would be good or it will be bad for yourselves or even for
society.

He explains that duties are laws and regulations combined with our actions.
And so, Kant’s concept of duty is to remind some people most especially those who
are violating the health protocols to do their duty as Filipinos that is to have a
concern with other people in this time of pandemic and to obey the health
protocols for the good of the country 6. But unfortunately, it comes to the point that
we are motivated to do duty as long as the law is with us. That is why Kant
introduces the universal law on which it is explained that it is a law that applies to
all or everyone is encouraged to obey this law7.

The health protocols of the Government

According to the World Health Organization or WHO in their statistical data

on the year 2020 that there is an estimate of 47, 873 cases over the Philippines, 56%
of it are male that ranging to 30-39 years old and others rangers to 22.6% up to
23.7%8. Still, at this very moment, the Philippines is facing the ravages brought by
the Covid- 19 pandemic. A lot of people were getting infected since the beginning

6 Ibid, pp. 64–65

7 Kleingeld, Pauline. "Contradiction and Kant’s Formula of Universal Law" Kant-Studien 108, no. 1 (2017): 89-115.
https://doi.org/10.1515/kant-2017-0006

8 Relief Web, “Philippines Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Situation Report #43, 7 July 2020 -
Philippines.”. Accessed October 18, 2021. https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/philippines-
coronavirus-disease-covid
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65 Saint Hannibal Street, Merville Park, Paranaque City
(02) 544-3676; Email add.: rscmla@rcj.ph

of the pandemic. And this is the reason why the Philippine government particularly
the IATF or the Inter-Agency Task Force would implement such health protocols
that would help them to control the number of people getting infected by the virus.
These health protocols in various aspects should be observed strictly so that there
are chances of possible slowing the rapid spread of the Covid -19 to different cities
and provinces.9

Besides, one of the protocols that are implemented is the travel- ban or travel
restrictions. Restricting public travel around the Philippines is one of IATF’s
solutions to lessen the Covid-19 virus, because according to some experts in the
medical field that there is a bigger chance of spreading the virus through close
contact with other people especially to vehicles. Some statistics would say that
restricting travel was successfully delayed or slowed down the rapid increase of the
Covid- 19 virus10.

Another protocol aside from travel restrictions is the community

interventions. The Enhanced Community Quarantine is raised in Metro Manila and
other neighboring cities, the ECQ that is part of the community interventions,
assures that all of the citizens are in their respective houses aside from those people
who work for the betterment of the community in this

time of Pandemic like those food deliveries, doctors, nurses and other essential
works that should not be closed down. People when leaving must maintain a one-

9 De Vero, Mark Kelvin B, et al. “Prevention and Planning as Important Factors in Ensuring Public
Health in the Philippines during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press,
Issue no. 02, 2021, https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/43/2/e358/6162919?login=true.

10 Christopher Lloyd Caliwan. “PNP to Implement Laws Based on Minimum Health Standards.”
Philippine News Agency, May 6, 2021, https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1139317.
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65 Saint Hannibal Street, Merville Park, Paranaque City
(02) 544-3676; Email add.: rscmla@rcj.ph

meter physical distance, closing other non-essential establishments and prohibiting

mass gatherings that can cause a rapid spread of the virus11.

Disobedience to Health Protocols

Since some Senators and other government offices want to implement back
to square one as the Philippines is now experiencing the pandemic for almost 2
years, some would risk their lives disobeying the health protocols that are being
implemented by different Local Government Units or LGU. It has been a roller
coaster for the IATF in dealing with Covid- 19 pandemic. And now the same
problem from the beginning is trying to solve again by the government because
some people would think that they are being maltreated to do whatever they want
to do12.

In addition, the government is trying to bring back the old intensified police
deployment to again discipline the people from being immoral to not do their duty
to secure each other’s health amidst the pandemic. In this way, there is a possibility
that the number of violators may decrease due to the implementation of possible
consequences or punishments and also maintain the discipline of the Filipinos to
these health protocols.13

Not Following the Health Protocol is Immoral using Kant’s concept of Duty

11 Department of Interior and Local Government, “DILG to Barangay Officials: Enforce Minimum
Health Protocols in the Community - News.”. Accessed October 14, 2021.
https://www.dilg.gov.ph/news/DILG-to-barangay-officials-Enforce-minimum-health-protocols-in-
the-community/NC-2020-1211.

12 Buan, Lian. “In Luzon Quarantine, DOJ Says Resisting and Disobeying Basis for Arrest.”. Rappler,
March 16, 2020. https://www.rappler.com/nation/doj-says-resisting-disobeying-basis-arrest-luzon-
quarantine-coronavirus.

13 Luna, Franco. “Back to 'Disiplina'? with Rising Covid-19 Cases, Gov't Scrambles to Enforce Health
Protocols Anew.” Philstar.com, March 10, 2021.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/03/10/2083387/back-disiplina-rising-covid-19-cases-govt-
scrambles-enforce-health-protocols-anew.
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65 Saint Hannibal Street, Merville Park, Paranaque City
(02) 544-3676; Email add.: rscmla@rcj.ph

A lot of people are now being unconcerned with what is happening to the
country due to pandemics. People are going out of their houses without even
wearing protective gears like face masks and face shields as per the government
orders all to use these protective gears to protect themselves from the virus.
Because of those numerous cases, the Department of Justice or DOJ

proposes to the public the guidelines on arresting and investigating those violators
of the health protocols14.

It is immoral to violate the health protocols that the IATF imposes because
according to Kant’s concept of duty, that his concept of what is duty is through
doing goodwill to others. In the context of health protocols, every Filipino citizen
must obey these health protocols because it is for our own good. We cannot call the
action part of our duty if it is not for the good of others. Violators should see that
what they are doing is not part of their supposed to be duty because violating the
health protocols brings harm and shows no concern to other people. but rather if
they will obey and do the right thing like wearing face masks, face shields, and
observing other health protocols they are doing their duty which is helping the
government to not burden them and protecting also the health of other people.15

Conclusion

To conclude, one of the problems of the IATF or the Inter-Agency Task Force
an organization on which it is composed of different government officials that are
responsible for coping up with the problems regarding the Covid- 19 pandemic. It
highlights the problem of some people being immoral to do their duty as part of the
society which is also according to Kant’s Concept of Duty particularly the Universal
14 Staff, “PNP Warns Quarantine Violators: 'Matakot Kayo'.” CNN Philippines. Accessed October 14,
2021. https://www.cnn.ph/news/2020/4/23/PNP-quarantine-violators-stricter-quarantine-protocol-
arrest-without-warning-order.html.
15 Depasupil, William. “DOJ Approves Arrest Guidelines for Covid-19 Health Protocol Violators.” The
Manila Times, May 29 2021, https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/05/29/news/doj-approves-arrest-
guidelines-for-covid-19-health-protocol-violators/1801154.
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(02) 544-3676; Email add.: rscmla@rcj.ph

Law on which it points out that an action cannot be called a duty if it is not for the
good of others. Goodwill is the basis of Immanuel Kant for his Concept of Duty.
Therefore, some Filipinos to fulfill their duty as Filipino in this time of pandemic
must obey the health protocols of the government so that, the cases of Covid-19
could lessen and able to eliminate for the upcoming years.