“We don’t want positive patients to stay home…”, a Philippines government statement seems to conflict somewhat with what the author of those words has done in the past and what Philippines officials have done today, self-quarantine.
FPM.news looks at the larger issues behind today’s headlines flashing around the world and the vigorous military-style non-healthcare fight in the Philippines against COID-19. Both the disease and the “COVID-19 Rule-Enforcers” have taken lives.
Philippines Government to Herd ‘positive patients’ into “facilities”
General Eduardo Año is a retired Philippine Army (AFP) general now serving as the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government since his appointment in 2018 to the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte.
by Katie Alsop
Toronto 12 Dec 2024 latest data.
Historical notes:
- 2 February 2020—First death outside China due to COVID-19 occurs in the Philippines.
- 14 July 2020—Philippines National Police will “go house-to-house and we will bring the positive cases to our COVID-19 isolation facilities.”
“We don’t want positive patients to stay home…” Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año is prodding local government units (LGUs) to enact ordinances that would make discipline the new normal as a non-medical measure to fight COVID-19. Photo Credits: Official Government Photography. Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine
General Año, who says he was tested for COVID-19 on 27 March, also told the Philippines people on 31 March that his test was positive. He urged all persons whom he had been in contact with to self-quarantine.
“I make this announcement to call the attention of all persons I had close contact with to go on self-quarantine and observe any symptoms, in accordance with DOH guidelines,” General Año had said.
That edict has apparently changed and persons having symptoms will be either jailed or sent “to our COVID-19 isolation facilities,” he said on 14 July 2020.
Notwithstanding the change in direction, for the Philippines Public, the detainment and official isolation of COVID-19 cases does not apply to the Duterte Administration’s officials.
Detainment of COVID-19 Cases doesn’t apply to Duterte Officials
Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Felimon Santos have both announced they will “self-isolate” on Tuesday after they were exposed to a military aide who tested positive for COVID-19.
The two military men had accompanied Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during a visit to a military camp in the southern Philippines Sulu province on Monday. Lorenzana said “one military aide, during the trip in Sulu province, tested positive for the disease”. The aide had apparently shared the results he received on Monday during the trip.
Philippines Military spokesman Edgard Arevalo said on Tuesday that Chief of Staff Felimon Santos “will be on a strict, doctor-supervised quarantine” after being exposed to the same military aide.
“I had myself swabbed this morning and will self-quarantine to await the results,” Lorenzana explained.
The Philippines Public may not self-quarantine?
Today General Año said in a press conference that Philippines police would be going door-to-door and by searching homes find the persons who had symptoms of COVID-19 and detain them and bring them to COVID-19 isolation facilities. Those who refused to cooperate will be imprisoned.
“We don’t want positive patients to stay home in quarantine especially if their homes don’t have the capacity,” Ano told a news conference, today.
The former military General Año, now Philippines Interior Minister in charge of public discipline says Philippines National Police will “go house-to-house and we will bring the positive cases to our COVID-19 isolation facilities.”
“Now that the government is easing quarantine restrictions to balance public health with the need to reopen the economy, we must institute measures to promote discipline and individual responsibility among our people through local legislation,” he said Tuesday.
According to the official Philippines Gazette, “The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is the executive department responsible for promoting peace and order, ensuring public safety, and strengthening the capability of local government units to effectively deliver basic services to the citizenry.”
The post continues to say that,
“the following agencies are attached to the DILG:
- Bureau of Fire Protection
- Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)
- Local Government Academy
- National Police Commission
- Philippine National Police (PNP)
- Philippine Public Safety College
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año is prodding local government units (LGUs) to enact ordinances that would make discipline as the new normal as a non-medical measure to fight COVID-19 as part of the Department’s broader Disiplina Muna campaign. “Now that the government is easing quarantine restrictions to balance public health with the need to reopen the economy, we must institute measures to promote discipline and individual responsibility among our people through local legislation,” he said Tuesday. The DILGChief said these ordinances that prescribe discipline includes following health safety protocols like wearing a face mask in public, sanitizing hands, doing at least one-meter physical distancing, observing cough etiquette, and staying at home for children and senior citizens. “I encourage LGUs from provincial to barangay sanggunians to make use of their legislative power to enact ordinances on ‘discipline as the new normal’ to beat COVID-19. By instituting individual discipline, we can defeat COVID-19,” he pointed out.
Photo Credit DILG
Philippines will make discipline, “the new normal as a non-medical measure to fight COVID-19” says Philippines Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Año said he supports the Joint Task Force COVID Shield Commander Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar’s recommendation for local government to have an bylaw to sustain public health safety measures and foster shared responsibility for COVID-free communities.
“His proposal is good. It’s true that the police cannot police everyone all the time. Police can’t do it alone in making sure that all continue to follow health safety practices.
“Every Filipino must do his responsibility. If there’s an ordinance, it imposes a duty to obey, involves a sanction, promotes order, and benefits all,” Ano said.
Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar recently said some local governments have passed ordinances imposing penalties on people who are caught without face masks in public places and who are allegedly violating the Philippines quarantine laws on physical distancing.
According to the Philippines Department of the Interior, “The launching is in line with DILG ‘Memorandum Circular No. 2019-18’ directing the Department’s attached agencies and LGUs to roll out the campaign in their respective organizations and jurisdictions.”
The ‘Disiplina Muna’ campaign is one of the DILG’s projects, says DILG in a public statement, seeks to rebuild the culture of discipline among Filipinos to foster people’s participation as one of the tenets of good governance.
DILG Undersecretary for Peace and Order, Bernardo C. Florece, Jr., during the launch in Camp Crame where Senator Leila DeLima has been held in prison as an alleged political prisoner for opposing the Philippines President, lauded the Philippines National Police for adopting the ‘Disiplina Muna’ public discipline campaign, which cuts across government, private sector, civil society, and the media. He said that the campaign’s relevance is imminent in the current pandemic and the post-COVID-19 era.
Wear a Mask
One of many types of medical masks. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness hence you must protect your respiratory system. Wear a NIOSH N95 mask outside your home & near anyone in your home who has symptoms or who is quarantined. This is true for all humans without exception. Learn to fit check & wear these masks. It’s your future. Wearing a medical mask does not take one away from a frontliner it keeps you off their dying patient list. Photo Credit: Melissa Hemingway. Photo Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine