Here’s how presidentiables and vice presidentiables would pave the road to recovery if elected into office.
The Philippine government has announced that we are already transitioning toward the desired new normal.
READ ALSO: 2022 PH Elections: What The Presidentiables Promised They Would Do In Their First Days In Office
Although the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over, health officials say the government is preparing for the endemic stage of the coronavirus.
This week, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases placed the National Capital Region and other areas under Alert Level 1 from March 1 to 15.
The lowest alert level refers to areas where case transmission, total bed utilization rate, and intensive care unit utilization rate are low and decreasing.
This means all establishments and public transportation may now operate at full capacity, according to the latest guidelines.
However, it’s too early to relax.
“Although we are seeing that cases are dropping and the positivity rate is down, we know that people are still getting sick. And if we let our safeguards down, for example our compliance to minimum public health standards drops, there is still the possibility that cases will rise,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a February 28 press briefing.
Aside from the possibility of raising alert levels in the future, the country is still haunted by its past, namely the health and financial crisis left by COVID-19. This is why the coronavirus response of Filipino presidentiables and vice-presidentiables couldn’t be more timely.
During the recent CNN Philippines 2022 presidential and vice-presidential debates, all candidates except for Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Sara Duterte, and Lito Atienza—who were all absent—publicized their platforms related to addressing COVID-19.
Here’s what they have to offer.
Presidentiables
The participating presidential candidates were respectively asked who they would want to pick for their Health Secretary and economic team in the context of the pandemic. This is how they answered.
Senator Ping Lacson: I cannot name names at this point in time, but what you need is someone definitely knowledgeable about the economy. There’s no trade-off between health and economy… We need comprehensive and targeted financial packages, incentives for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Norberto Gonzales: We need to expand participation. We would bolster the economy especially in this emergency situation. So we will open the source of capital to give to everyone who desires livelihood.
Senator Manny Pacquiao: First of all, I’ve chosen someone for finance, but I won’t mention who. But we need to focus and center on what we call revenue income of our government, because we spend year after year.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno: We will hire somebody who is very good in that field of undertaking. But what matters most is the people. Citizens, what I would first do is to make you feel that you have a government to lean on during life’s difficulties. Like I proposed five months ago when I was talking to farmers in Tarlac and fisherfolk in Zambales, I said, “I’ll cut into half the oil tax.”
Vice President Leni Robredo: I will not name them, but I’m sure that the Health Secretary will be, number one: expert in the field, number two: a very competent manager since this is needed, number three: respected by his peers or her peers, and number four: definitely the appointment won’t be political.
Ernesto Abella: I cannot give you the name of course, but we are already going through the process of selection. First of all, there are three things that we want out of them. Number 1: they must have integrity, number 2 is intelligence, and number 3 is energy. And we also need somebody of course with the medical background and definitely medical background, as well as managerial excellence.
Vice Presidentiables
Meanwhile, the vice-presidential candidates were asked about how they would prepare for the next pandemic and how they would help MSMEs struggling due to COVID-19. Here’s what they said.
Manny Lopez: My general prescription is for a science-based, cost-effective, and pragmatic approach to pandemic management, because this is a crisis, in our case, of biblical proportions. And accordingly, the general prescription is our bayanihan spirit–our caring for each other.
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III: Treatment, prevention, prophylaxis–I think we should go there. The vaccination program is good, but what do we do after 6 months? After 6 months, we’ll ask Congress again for P78 billion to buy again for 100 million Filipinos? Every 6 months? So I think we should be concentrating more on the prophylaxis.
Rizalito David: Firstly, there needs to be a summit in order to build consensus from the scientific community on what this pandemic would be, or in this particular case, COVID… We definitely need a national consensus on what to do with COVID and other pandemics that will hit us in the future.
Carlos Serapio: I have examined the Bayanihan Law and practically factored every scenario that could happen. And they have actually budgeted a huge amount of money in support of MSMEs. Now considering that the incoming administration will have to abide by the law and will have to use the funds that have been budgeted under the General Appropriations Act. Our only option is to follow what is destined under the law, and implement this well.
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan: The Leni Robredo tandem’s suggestion is to get P100 billion from the current realignment project and support MSMEs as aid. This isn’t a loan, it’s aid. But there are restrictions and requisites. For example, you will receive aid if you don’t terminate your employees. This is so we can preserve those jobs.
Walden Bello: We need to repeal those Foreign Investment Act amendments that lowered the Filipino only to about 100,000. From 200,000 to 100,000… Ka Leody and I, we are going to have a P200-billion emergency fund for MSMEs, but that’s not enough. We need to bring back a country that really deserves our MSMEs that get devoured by foreigners.
Banner Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
