Fruit of vigilance

By Artchil B. Fernandez

“Sununod na lang kayo!”  (Just obey!) The social media is exploding with this admonition as the dwindling fanatics and overworked troll factories/farms are in frenzied and panicked effort to contain the avalance of criticisms cascading on the present adminstration due to its incompetence, incoherence and inconsistensies in handling the COVID-19 crisis. Blind obedience is the last refuge of autocrats losing control and grip of the situation.

Blind obedience is an anathema in a democracy. In time of crisis, instead of blind obedience, citizens must heighten their vigilance and be on their guard. Dark forces can hijack the situation to sneak in their sinister agenda. The emergency power requested by Du30 from Congress is an example of such attempt.

Pilloried for delayed and even late action when the COVID-19 crisis reached the Philippines, Du30 asked for emergency power from Congress. Malacañang’s draft bill called the Bayanihan Act of 2020 drew strong and widespread opposition when it was made public. The draft bill seeks to grant Du30 wide emergency power to deal with the COVID-19 crisis by placing the country under a state of national emergency. Section 3 of the bill explicitly states that “it is imperative to grant [the President] emergency powers subject to such limitations as hereinafter provided.”

The most controversial portion of the proposal is Section 4, Paragraph 4 which gives Du30 power to “temporarily take over or direct the operation of any privately-owned public utility or business affected with public interest to be used in addressing the needs of the public during the COVID-19 emergency”  as determined by him. These businesses include “but not limited to hotels and other similar establishments…public transportation, & telecommunications entities…”

Social media was ablazed with strident reactions mostly against the Malacañang draft bill. Netizens are alarmed with the proposal to give Du30 broad and sweeping power to take over businesses imbued with public interest, particularly telecommunications and the media. The public suspect that Du30 is using the COVID-19 crisis to realize his long cherished obsession to control the media and weld dictatorial power.

Many believe that Du30 as president has enough power to deal with the COVID-19 crisis without additional emergency power. The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) pointed out that Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act already gives the president power to mobilize resources of the government in deal with the pandemic.

Sensing stiff and firm public opposition to the Malacañang draft bill, the Senate diluted the proposal. In the Senate version of the bill, the phrase “emergency power” was removed. The Senate also deleted the most dangerous provision, Section 4, Paragraph 4, which would have authorized Du30 to “take over of public utilities and private businesses.” It was replaced by a line with a narrow scope, “direct” private medical centers, hotels and similar establishments to house health-care workers, as well as to compel public transportation operators and passenger vessels to ferry them to treatment centers and quarantines.

Instead of granting Du30 blanket authority “to reprogram and reallocate any appropriation in the 2020 General Appropriations Act,” he is authorized to realign and divert only savings generated by the executive department. The validity of the “bill” was also altered by the Senate. In place of validity of “two months or longer if the calamity will persist, as may be determined by the President,” it was changed to three months “unless extended by Congress.”

Originally, the House accepted the proposal of Malacañang but was forced to adopt the Senate version to expedite the process and avoid stalemate. Speaker Cayetano accused the Senate of politicking before grudgingly giving in.  Even the title was modified by the Senate, calling the bill “Bayanihan to Heal As One Act.”

The final output is not what Du30 wants and this is the fruit of vigilance. Had Filipinos been silent and adopted a herd mentality – meek and obedient, the bill proposed by Malacañang would have been passed as is by Congress and Du30 would have successfully exploited the COVID-19 crisis to push his sinister plan. Alert, critical, watchful and vigilant citizens are vital in a democracy. These attributes of the people are necessary to preserve democracy and thwart dictatorial and authoritarian designs of rulers.

Active engagement of citizens in public sphere is most crucial in this time of crisis. The public sphere according to Jurgen Habermas is “the sphere of private people” coming “together as public…to engage” authorities “in a debate over the general rules governing relations…the medium of this political confrontation…people’s public use of their reason.” With most people in their homes in community quarantine, they have time for critical engagement in the public sphere. The explosion in social media of reactions to every action of public officials in dealing with COVID-19 crisis in the past days is evident of this.

While cooperation with authorities is important in this time of crisis, this does not imply blind obedience. Now more than ever, Filipinos have to critically engage in public sphere to prevent Du30 and his cabal from exploiting the COVID-19 crisis to advance their wicked agenda. Be like the prophet Jeremiah in this dark and challening time.

Filipinos must unite and work together in true Bayanihan spirit to defeat COVID-19 and overcome this serious health crisis. But at the same time, Filipinos must maintain their critical stance and vigilance to stop people especially the leaders of the land who lack brain and rely on brawn to deal with the crisis from taking advantage of the situation.