DO ALL Filipinos deserve to be vaccinated? This is not just a political question but also an ethical one. Sadly, we live in a country that does not seem to believe in the significance of ethics in political life. I have been speaking of politics very negatively because I cannot in honesty speak about it of what it is not. We ended 2020 with more news about scams and scandals. Hopefully, we will realize how complacent we have been when it comes to demanding the accountability of our public officials.
While other countries have been preparing for the vaccination of their citizens, here we are being left hanging and clueless as to our chance of getting a shot. Apparently, some politicians are busy prioritizing themselves. The members of the PSG are luckier for being classified as the more important citizens of this country. Now we know the enhanced meaning of public service in the new normal. As it has always been the case, our “trapos” do not run out of justifications why their interests matter more than the interests of the people who have been paying them through taxes.
As I said, giving everyone a vaccine is an ethical issue. To elaborate this a bit, we can simply ask the following questions: does everyone deserve to be safe? Is safety a basic or fundamental right? Is it the duty of the state to ensure the safety of its citizens? Unless the answer to these questions is in the negative then we have to concede that providing all Filipinos a vaccine is the moral duty of the Philippine government.
Giving each person his or her due to being safe from a disease is a universal imperative. It is not an option. The continual survival of this country is mainly because of its people, i.e. its workforce. This country will continue to live if the future workers, i.e. students will be secured from possible threats that are more serious. Moreover, this country’s ethical paradigm is measured in terms of how it values the old and those who have been working hard in the frontlines, i.e. the medical personnel, caregivers, and all other allied professions. Least in priority should be the politicians who promised us during elections that they’d offer their lives for the Philippines.
Certainly, there are those who would think of the matter and argue on the basis of some pragmatic and utilitarian principles. Those “lawyerish” minds that are fond of harping on issues of necessity, beneficiality, and practicability. These worn-out argumentative points – are for me not the best measure when it comes to finding a way or solution to giving every Filipino his or her due.
In all honesty, I am tired of discussing with people who cannot think about the welfare of this country beyond their self-centered passion for legal technicalities. Such technicalities are helpful only if they facilitate the achievement of the common good. Looking for the budget should not be a hindrance. If the government even found a way to brag about an “Olympic Kaldero” that cost millions – why can’t it look for ways and means to save its citizens from the threat of Covid-19?
The issue on affording each Filipino a vaccine has again magnified the kind of politics we have in this country. One where its leaders secure themselves leaving their people swimming for survival in the open ocean of poverty and misery. While the US has started giving shots in mid-December, here’s our government still considering the one that’s made in China. This ridiculous news item has unfortunately not hit the nerve of many unmindful Filipinos who up to now are more concerned with many trivial things other than their health and safety. It’s as if the Covid-19 pandemic has not taught us the importance of fighting for our rights.*