‘As for the people, while herd immunity from coronavirus 2019 had been all but abandoned by the government, we propose that they shun herd mentality or stupidity in vetting which is fake and which is genuine in information.’
THE COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated the proliferation of propaganda and fake news in the Internet through social media, has become a test of Filipino credulity.
This manifested anew at the Manila vaccination site in SM San Lazaro last August 5, and in at least two venues in Las Piñas (a mall and a hospital), and one vax place in Caloocan City.
In these vaccination venues, and for sure in others, people lined up for the shots as early as 2 a.m., some bringing carton boxes and tarpaulins to sleep on while guarding their slot in the line. At 10 a.m., numbers were given by local health authorities and by noon, more people arrived to pack the place.
It was the day before the reimposition of the stringent enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and nearby provinces in the “bubble,” and people are rather on edge. Thus, when word spread that everyone should get the jab or their freedom to move around would be taken out by the State, most everybody in the venue believed it. Agitated and frenzied, the situation turned for the worse as more and more people took the fake news as true, creating a near-stampede situation to get the jabs. Local authorities and the police had to intervene to restore order, and the vaccination had to be stopped.
To be fair, the seeds of this test of Filipino credulity had been planted beforehand when, during President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address on July 26, he said that he will order the police to escort unvaccinated persons back to their homes if they are caught outside. While this is not illegal as the State can always draw from its police power that can be used to quell a public health or security crisis, this directive will need legislation from Congress.
There had been contrary positions aired against the use of police power in implementing health protocols aimed at mitigating the pandemic. This opposition came from the Commission on Human Rights within the Duterte administration and the usual critics in the Yellow and Leftist camps.
The CHR is seriously concerned that vaccination status might cause social discrimination on a wide scale, as problems like employees being unable to report to work if they are not vaccinated, or plain folk going to the supermarket to buy food and other essentials.
It should be incumbent on the Philippine National Police (PNP) to sift through the noise and act with restraint and tolerance in the implementation of the law, presidential perorations notwithstanding.
As for the people, while herd immunity from coronavirus 2019 had been all but abandoned by the government, we propose that they shun herd mentality or stupidity in vetting which is fake and which is genuine in information.
