Discipline

By Manuel P. Mejorada

That many Filipinos suffer from a lack of discipline is apparent in the number of curfew violators who have been apprehended by the police during the enhanced community quarantine that was put into effect three weeks ago.

By the latest count, more than a hundred thousand people were detained by police for disregardinig the stay-at-home order. This is a clear indication that as a people, we have a serious problem wth obeying our authorities, especially at this time when breaking the curfew can contrbute to the spread of the Covid 19 infection.

The problem goes much deeper than a lack of discipline on a personal level. There’s also the inexcusable neglect of certain local government officials in enforcing measures to help stop the corona virus pandemic, or at least slow it down.

During the weekend, I saw images of thousands of people crowding a public market in Quezon City. Another was a picture of people lining up at the QC City Hall to claim their cash assistance. Similar images were also captured in other LGUs of Metro Manila. It was like a scene from a horror movie.

The ECQ appears to have been forgotten altogether. The question must be asked: What are the LGUs for these places doing to make sure people protect themselves and others? Mayor Joy Belmonte, in particular, seems oblivious to the fact that her city has become the epicenter of the corona virus pandemic in Metro Manila. She might have forgotten that each of those outside is a potential carrier of the virus.

I can only pray that the situation in Quezon City will not deteriorate any further. Mayor Belmonte should pray hard, too, that her glaring negligence in performing her duties will not result to an avalanche of deaths. She is literally exposing tens of thousands of residents to the disease. After this is over, the Department of Interior and Local Government should investigate these sins of omission by the local chief executives.

Mayors play a critical role in fighting the pandemic. And making sure people obey the quarantine rules is number one among their duties and responsibilities. As local chief executives, they possess enormous powers to enforce the restrictions. It is their duty to discipline people who don’t care at all about potentially spreading the disease in their homes and neighborhoods.