This duty of the government to deliver entitlements becomes even more necessary during periods of crisis, which worsens the condition of the poor and the vulnerable. We can see this in the current health crisis caused by COVID-19.
A crisis situation can worsen government’s inefficiency and abuse of power. This, in turn, makes it harder for societies to respond and recover from disaster in a way that takes care of the victims and the most vulnerable who suffer most. This makes transparency, participation and accountability (TPA) measures extremely critical during crisis situations.
However, not all TPA measures are equally effective. And for TPA measures to be effective, they need to employ integrated approaches that enable both the demand side of accountability (citizen voice) and supply side (government’s capacity to respond)
As it seems, the Philippine health sector is ill-prepared for the COVID19 outbreak. This is not surprising after budget cuts, corruption allegations, politicization of health governance and political leadership’s focus on security and order going after opposition, activists and poor drug offenders.
On March 23, 2020, the House of Representatives and Senate deliberated and passed a bill that grants immense powers to the president to address the COVID-19 threat. The proposed legislation was quickly signed into law on March 25, 2020 with the title Bayanihan We Heal as One Act or Republic Act 11469.
Among the powers granted to the president by RA 11469 are exemptions to the government procurement law in order to undertake procurements in the most “expeditious manners” (Section 4.k). Some of the items listed that can be procured with exemptions include:
Naninindigan kami na hindi na kailangang palawigin pa ang kapangyarihan ng Pangulo upang magkaroon ng epektibong tugon sa COVID-19. Sapat na ito upang bigyang direksyon at liderato ang gobyerno at buong bansa sa pagsugpo ng COVID-19.
Ang kelangang palakasin ay ang kakayanan ng mga frontliners sa health sector at local governments sa pamamagitan ng pagbigay sa kanila ng mga tulong at suporta na kanilang kagyat na kailangan.