SANA ALL: Best practices in COVID-19 response in Metro Manila

When the lockdown was imposed in Metro Manila on March 15, the first week and the guidelines made apparent how the local government units (LGUs) would play a big part—if not the most grueling part in the implementation. Especially that of having to provide food to residents ordered to stay at home by the national government, and in turn, to avoid chaos from the problems resulting from the lockdown.

This list rounds up the best practices of various LGUs in Metro Manila in the COVID-19 pandemic response. These best practices may be the best feature of the COVID-19 pandemic response in their own city or a model to emulate for other cities in the region or even in the national government’s response.

No, we’re not counting food packs here. City population and number of households, land area and their revenues from which they derive their calamity funds are too diverse. No, this is not about the distribution of the national government’s P8,000 emergency subsidy–a program that was left to the LGUs to implement and for which President Rodrigo Duterte has promised to put them in jail should anomalies arise of this program (and in the same speech absolving NCRPO Chief Major General Debold Sinas for holding an “extraordinary birthday celebration” during a ban on mass gatherings).

The most important among all these programs are setting up its own laboratory to be able to conduct mass testing and a form of cash aid that is catered to all residents.

Own testing laboratory

At the beginning of the lockdown when the national government had only one testing laboratory, Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro had planned to set up the city’s own testing laboratory and start with mass testing in the city by March 24. Nearby provinces lobbied for the testing lab in Marikina as the mayor had graciously opened it to testing needs of other areas.

Of course, there were snags to Teodoro’s vision, starting with the first lab built being rejected. In the second lab built, he launched it without DOH inspection by mid-April, a schedule delayed for weeks to a month. The city’s testing lab was finally accredited by April 30, one of the 19 accredited labs in the country that time.

The free testing in the city started on May 1. Mass testing for all tricycle drivers and operators—around 6,000 of them—were to be tested starting on May 18. The LGU also ordered that all employees and workers from both public and private were to be tasked. The mass testing in the city would use both rapid and RT-PCR tests and those who tested positive for the former would take a confirmatory RT-PCR test.

The Department of Health (DOH) would until the last week of March stress that the country does not need mass testing, until much public outcry made them announce to start “massive” testing on April 14. They have now only done ramping up tests conducted, calling it “expanded targeted testing.”

Even earlier, Teodoro was praised for his COVID-19 response in the city that included disinfection in the barangays and setting up disinfection tents in entry and exit points, providing printed informational materials to residents about the COVID-19 and providing disinfectants to residents apart from food packs.

Teodoro also assisted in the release of 10 feeding volunteers in the city that police arrested on May 1 and said he found nothing wrong if they brought with them protest placards for it is their constitutional right to expression.

Cash aid for all residents over 18 years old

On May 11, the Makati LGU under Mayor Abby Binay announced to give P 5,000 cash aid to all residents of the city over 18 years of age. Under the P2.7 billion economic relief program of Makati City, the financial aid is also extended to those in relocation areas provided by the Makati City Government in Calauan, Laguna and San Jose, Bulacan. One must be registered either as a Makatizen cardholder, as a yellow cardholder under the Makati Health Program, or as a voter in Makati City.

The P5,000 cash aid would be credited to a Makatizen cardholder’s e-wallet account through the city’s partnership with GCash . Those who are not yet registered may expect to receive the cash aid within six to 15 days from submission of their application.

How has the government’s aid for the middle class fared? Much talk is still on the Social Amelioration for the poor. In Makati, as early as April 15, the LGU distributed Puregold grocery vouchers worth P500 to those who live in condominiums.

These are beyond what the national government has provided. The national government gave P 5,000 to P8,000 per household to 18 million out of their estimated 26 million families in the country. As of President’s address to the nation on May 19, the distribution of the first tranche of financial aid for the first month of lockdown is still not complete, only at 97% after more than two months of lockdown.

Some LGUs were the first to do something, but many others caught on. Examples of these programs are swab testing in their own cities (though these swab samples go through the few laboratories in the country as we continue to have a backlog), mobile palengke, food coupon or food vouchers, and setting up their own quarantine facilities.

Some of these are worth mentioning:

Free transportation system

The hallmark of good public service was so evident with Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto’s public response that when the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) wanted to investigate him for supposedly violating quarantine protocols, netizens (even those who do not reside in the city) went in a #ProtectVico frenzy and some public officials declared their support to the young mayor, while even Malacañang distanced itself from the NBI’s actions.

Actions that were praised were programs that extend hands-on support to the people, quick reaction to the people’s needs that arise due to the lockdown, and all the supplemental programs the city provided to augment the national government’s program, such as the selective SAP aid. One of his programs to comply with the limitations the lockdown imposed and still support the needs of his constituents are the bikes and free transportation system in the city for frontliners, and now also to workers who have returned to work.

Public information

Valenzuela LGU headed by Mayor Rex Gatchalian and Manila LGU headed by Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso have strong public information programs on various platforms their respective LGUs use.

Valenzuela LGU has a dedicated COVID-19 webpage. On their Facebook page, the LGU reports cases in the city daily, donations received, updates on local testing, aid handed out to residents such as the food packs and food vouchers, quarantine centers built, programs for the homeless and many other public service announcements—from the outside, it looks a system is in place.

The Manila LGU has regular live broadcasts where the mayor updates his constituents on COVID-19 cases monitoring in the city, updates on local mass testing, on the cash aid, meetings the mayor had that he wishes to inform the public, etc. The page regularly updates on local mass testing, donations given to the city, city’s own cash and food aid, air pollution monitoring, repairs the city continued during the lockdown, and Sangguniang Kabataan relief and volunteer efforts such as giving away free taho, among others.

Livelihood to displaced sectors during the lockdown

When the lockdown was extended into the new modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from May 16 to 31, the Quezon City LGU with Mayor Joy Belmonte at the helm was the first to let their tricycle operators go back to work. But since people remain under strict stay at home orders, there might not be too many people to drive around. So more than just allowing the tricycle drivers to return to work, the Quezon City LGU set up an alternative livelihood for tricycle drivers with its partnership with Foodpanda, with the food delivery service booming amid the lockdown. This move could be quite looking far ahead since we don’t really know when the strictest of lockdowns that have always been imposed in NCR would end.

The LGUs and especially the national government should probably come up with more programs like this so the “new normal” could mean jobs for Filipinos and not a carry over of hunger and general sense of loss since the lockdown was imposed.

Workers in the informal sector had always a high risk of losing income or opportunities, as their income is partly derived from how hard they work and, maybe, good fortune. The work load and income were always uneven. Some earn big and some are very small earners, but at least they can earn something amid the lack of jobs in the country. So, the lockdown further aggravated the situation of informal workers who cannot make a living for two months and counting.

Reporting of probable and suspect cases deaths

Mandaluyong LGU under the helm of Mayor Menchie Abalos and Navotas LGU headed by Mayor Toby Tiangco are the only cities that report the deaths of suspect cases of COVID-19 daily. Some LGUs such as Makati and Quezon City have released periodic reports of deaths of suspect or probable cases.

Meanwhile, only Navotas, Makati and Pateros continue to count the contacts (previously persons under monitoring), because even if the World Health Organization still included this in its March guidance on re-classification of COVID-19 cases, the DOH no longer included contacts when it finally picked up the re-classification by mid-April.

What else can we ask for?

What else can we ask for that LGUs may implement? On the top of our heads is the payment of the people’s electric and water bills to be made or covered by the government, and the amount the government will pay is to be negotiated with the private concessionaires. But it would be best if the national government takes such program on, since it is the national government who privatized these public utilities anyway. It would have been easier for the government to have come up with this relief for the people if the government is still running these utilities for public service.

At the end of the day, the best solutions to the pandemic cannot be had at the local level. This public health crisis has been the responsibility of the national government from the very start.

Put together all the best features of the various aspects of the LGU’s pandemic response may not still merit the best response for the country, as the Philippines currently lags behind its South East Asian neighbors in tests, recovery rate and keeping health workers from getting infected with the novel coronavirus.  But if only the national government could have done some of these in the list at their level and on the scale of their jurisdiction and budget they have, we could, would, probably fare better.