THESE three items form part of what should be the integral agenda and urgent task that the national government agencies (NGA), the local government units (LGUs), and the civil society organizations (CSOs) should jointly focus upon and work on decisively. Other public agendas should be subordinated and contributory to the main agenda.
This is actually a reiteration of my proposed platform forwarded to LGUs and NGAs at the height of the pandemic last year, to address the mass dislocation and devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Control of people's movements using military and police enforcement measures which are akin to counter-insurgency tactics used against the armed insurgents and their base areas have only caused curtailment of people's rights and more miseries for them. The better strategy should have been the conversion of communities and sectors into anti-pandemic brigades led by CSOs, POs (people's organizations) and NGOs (non-government organizations) in coordination with LGUs and NGAs to undertake info-education campaign, delivery of services including emergency food packs and medicines, mob control, and community-based alternative education to children, and special care to senior citizens and PWDs (persons with disabilities).
Likewise, basic health protocols like facemasks, face shields, good hygiene and social distancing have been overly stressed over the need for more community-based info-education, programs and services led by CSOs, POs, and NGOs to strengthen the people's immune system or resistance to viruses.
The enterprise units and go-negosyo of NGAs and LGUs, business providers of private sectors, CSOs social enterprise organizations, metro chambers and humanitarian clubs, should have been jointly pooled by the government and CSOs to conduct massive enterprise support services to most vulnerable sectors simultaneous with citizens brigades fighting pandemic.
What I am saying, had these three interlinked platforms been clearly defined and positioned at the outset, we would not have been in a weakling situation vis-à-vis the continuing pandemic.
Had the real mass movement for sustainable economy recovery, people's welfare and health, been charted and pursued simultaneously on various fronts throughout the pandemic, we would not have been in a sorry state today.
I neither blame the government nor the private sector though for their lack of foresight, framework and inefficiencies, especially this is probably the worst social health crisis we have encountered ever.
However, this could have been corrected quickly had there been a mass movement orientation in the government, rather than dependence on few leaders and authorities who are ill-equipped in confronting the problem while funds were driven in all ways.
Still, it's not too late to reboot the agenda and re-engineer the approaches. All it takes is for the NGAs and LGUs to sit down with CSOs, POs, NGOs and other important stakeholders to do the job as a mission.
This is also where the DILG and People's Council for Change (PCC) could work together a doable war plans and beat the so-called unseen enemy made invisible by visible powers that be.
Just a perspective.