COVID-19 Pandemic Reiterates the Need for Transparency Essay Example
The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines is that written instrument by which the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited, and by which these powers are distributed among the several departments or branches for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the people.
Basing it from this definition, upon the creation of the Constitution, the Filipino people have foreseen the need to limit the powers of the government as a ruling body. An important function that can be inferred from this is the need to balance the liberty of the people and the authority of the government. The Philippine Constitution has limited the powers of the government through various ways, one of which is the through the Bill of Rights.
The concept of the Bill of Rights was a product of the conviction that the rights
...of an individual must be preserved and safeguarded, not through the authority of an individual, not through membership in a particular group or party, not through reliance upon force of arms, but rather through the accepted process of constitutional law.
By being the guardian of the people’s rights, it is imperative that the government does not overreach the already vast power bestowed upon them by the people and end up being oppressive to the detriment of the people’s rights.
National emergencies may come in different forms such as in terms of security, economy, or public health. There is a vast difference in times of emergency and in normal times. Normal procedures and rules when implemented during emergencies may prove to be fatal as it will not be as efficient or effective due to the need for timeliness. Resources
may have to be distributed in ways that deviate from normal and liberties may have to be sacrificed.
Resources that may be needed to be provided are food, water, and shelter, and there may be better accessibility of medications and medical supplies and equipment. Normally, some actions the government will not be permitted; however, during emergencies, these have been seen to be needed to provide ample support and adequate responses to the emergency at hand so that the government may properly do its job.
National constitutions and international human rights treaties often contain clauses that allow governments to temporarily suspend their obligations in a time of crisis, and they can invoke special powers that would normally be considered infringements on liberty.” For example, in the United States, the declaration of a public health emergency triggered provisions in the law that permit the Food and Drug Administration to exercise greater discretionary authority in meeting its responsibilities to approve and regulate medical products.
The purpose of those emergency provisions is to ensure that the statutory standards and requirements that the Food and Drug Administration is tasked with administering do not become impediments to quickly getting patients and health care providers the medical products they need in an emergency.Therefore, generally, during emergencies, the government’s powers have a broader scope than normal and this puts the government in a favorable condition to overreach if it wanted to.
As one would expect, people would be apprehensive as to giving up some liberties. Currently, freedom of assembly and freedom to travel are the most popular liberties given up all around the world. Several questions may come to mind such as “To what extent must we
sacrifice our constitutional rights?” “How assured are we that the additional discretion and power the government has during emergencies not be abused?” and “Will these changes only stay during the emergency or will it introduce a “new normal?””
The acts of the government during emergencies may have masked interests aside from just the public’s best interest. Some elected officials and media pundits have been promoting the hysterical notion that we can either implement draconian (national) lockdown measures on both the economy and individuals or be complicit in the mass death of millions. Within the first month of the Philippines’ lockdown, controversial news as to some police officers’ and politicians’ conduct have been rampant.
This is not new to the Philippines as politicians have been seen to serve themselves first rather than the public and because the memory of the historical Martial Law under former President Marcos is still engraved in the minds of the Filipino people. Fears have drastically risen even among the most ignorant as their lives and the lives of their loved ones are already directly affected by the pandemic. Currently, the fear felt by the Filipino people does not only relate to the coronavirus, but also to the acts of the government which may be overreaching and cause the people to sacrifice more than what is required.
During a public health crisis, a government’s credibility is a vital asset. To slow the spread of a virus, the government must convincingly inform and instruct the public. And to do this, it must inspire trust – trust that it is following the science, acting out of the interests of the population, and enforcing measures that will help
to keep the public safe. Surely, the coronavirus has put in the limelight not only the shortcomings of the political system of the Philippines in handling emergencies, but also what was already missing and should have been embedded even during times of peace and prosperity.
As the danger of coronavirus encompasses everyone, all have been struggling to manage the new kinds of situations it brings about. Currently, there are more eyes than ever before watching the movements of the government. What remains to be clear is that everyone wants to remain informed as to new rules and regulations the pandemic brings about, statistical changes in the cases, and better ways of coping with the situation, to name a few. An example of the lack of the public’s trust in the way the government is handling the pandemic is Ken Abante’s initiation in creating a citizen budget tracker for COVID-19.
Abante shares his sentiments as “We don't think the authorities in the budget are the constraint because the Bayanihan Act gives the President a lot of leeway to actually reallocate budgets into the COVID-19 response. But really, the question is, are we spending fast enough? And this is where I think civic engagement can play a big role in working with our local government so we can spend faster to stop hunger.”
The unrest in the public is related with their need to know the developments. With various contradicting news as to what is happening in various sectors of the government when it comes to handling the pandemic at hand, this only stirs up more confusion and distrust amongst the public. It can be easily put in control with
government transparency, and not with penalties that might trample on the people’s freedom of expression.
Transparency not only provides individuals and communities with information needed to survive an emergency, it is also an element of procedural fairness in decision-making and priority setting, which also makes it a necessary, if not sufficient, condition for accountable decision-making and for the promotion of public trust.The need for transparency has been highlighted unlike never before and I believe, specifically in the situation we are currently in, this need will help guide the path to a public understanding of all our individual and collective responsibilities to get through this pandemic together.
The coronavirus pandemic presents a solemn opportunity to reaffirm our right to access life-saving information, and we must protect and exercise that right all year round to ensure greater transparency and accountability in our government.
