COVID-19 task force readies deployment of 'police supervisors' vs 'stubborn' barangay folk
MANILA, Philippines — The government's quarantine enforcers have instructed all police commanders to submit the names of personnel designated as supervisors in the country's barangays as the government pushes community-level enforcement of quarantine protocols.
Joint Task Force COVID Shield, the enforcement arm of the coronavirus task force, said earlier that police personnel would be "COVID Focal Persons" in over 42,000 barangays across the country and would "supervise" barangay watchmen in enforcing rules on face masks and physical distancing.
They will also enforce the "prohibition of mass gathering that include drinking sessions and gossiping on the streets."
In a statement on Tuesday, Police Lt. Gen. Eleazar, JTF CV Shield commander, disclosed that the City and Municipal Public Order and Safety personnel will also be included in the enforcement campaign as part of the “whole-of-government approach in the fight against COVID to ensure that we defeat the virus."
"That is why we are enlisting all government law enforcers down to the barangay level to make sure that every community in the country is covered in our effort to prevent further transmission of the coronavirus,” said Eleazar.
Eleazar said that he also talked with DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño—who earlier endorsed a shame campaign and then blamed the media for reporting his statements as he said them.
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“The police commanders were already instructed to coordinate with the City and Municipal Local Government Operations Officers in order to start the coordination between the PNP and the Punong Barangays for interoperability in the enforcement of quarantine rules,” said Eleazar.
'Citizens are complacent and hard-headed'
The task force again brought up "the complaints and reports being received" of "local residents [who] have started to be complacent on the health safety protocols since the quarantine restrictions were eased in almost all part of the country."
JTF COVID Shield said that "residents at the barangay level have been reportedly shunning the use of face mask and have started converging again for a drinking session and even for gossiping."
In earlier statements, the task force said it reached this conclusion through "observations" on social media.
Surveys suggest Filipinos are following health protocols
According to a survey conducted by UK-based think tank YouGov, around 91% of Filipinos wear face masks whenever they leave their homes—even beating out Hong Kong in the survey—while mobility data from Google shows that Filipinos generally do their part and stay at home.
Though the Duterte administration routinely slams international bodies like the United Nations for being unacquainted with "the situation on the ground," the same is corroborated by an institution closer to home, with the Social Weather Stations finding in separate surveys that:
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87% of Filipinos are generally more afraid of getting and transmitting COVID-19 compared to any other pathogen in the past.
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Instead of staying home, four out of five Filipinos indeed left the house at least once and at most thrice in the week before the survey was conducted—for essentials, mainly food.
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77% of working-age Filipinos always use a face mask when going out of their houses, 68% always wash their hands several times a day, and 64% always keep “social distance” or a safe distance of one meter from other people when outside their homes.
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“Enforcement of minimum health safety protocols at the community level is essential in our fight against the COVID-19. As health experts said, we should always assume that the people we are talking to and cross paths with are virus carriers so wearing face masks and proper physical distancing is really an integral part in our goal of defeating the coronavirus,” said Eleazar.
'Conform or face the consequences'
With policemen themselves leading the barangay and local government personnel, Eleazar stressed that this "would send a strong message to every member of the community that they should conform and adhere to the quarantine rules, or face the consequences of their complacency or hardheadedness."
"The cooperation and regular coordination between the PNP and the barangay officials will greatly help in ensuring the proper and strict enforcement of the quarantine rules. The barangay-level strict enforcement of minimum health safety rules will synchronize the efforts of the national government and the Local Government Units,” he added.
While most Filipinos seem to be following health protocols, there is a limit to how long this will hold true and the constant isolation and enforcement may have unintended results.
'Risk is not binary'
Julia Marcus, an epidemiologist and professor at Harvard Medical School, warned in a May article in The Atlantic of quarantine fatigue, or the effect of "the profound burden of extreme physical and social distancing."
"In addition to the economic hardship it causes, isolation can severely damage psychological well-being, especially for people who were already depressed or anxious before the crisis started," she said.
She acknowledged that a premature return to "the old normal" would be harmful, "the choice between staying home indefinitely and returning to business as usual now is a false one."
"Risk is not binary. And an all-or-nothing approach to disease prevention can have unintended consequences," she said, noting similarities with the ineffectiveness of abstinence-only sex education.
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