Government defenseless against SARS
The reactionary government is not ready to deal with any epidemic because caring for the people�s health is not on its list of priorities
SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a contagious illness for which no cure has yet been found, has been spreading in various countries for the past several months. SARS symptoms include high fever that may be accompanied by tremors, muscle and joint pains and weakness. In two to seven days, this will be followed by dry and intense coughing and eventually, difficult breathing, which may be fatal.
By May, there were more than 3,000 cases and almost 600 deaths recorded in different countries. The disease was first reported in 2002 in China and spread to Hongkong and other countries this year.
There have been some SARS cases in the Philippines. Still, the regime insists that there is nothing to worry about.
The government is deathly afraid about news breaking out that the Philippines is among the countries with SARS. It fears a reduction in the number of overseas contract workers (OCW) and their remittances to the Philippines once other countries restrict the entry of Filipino OCWs due to the SARS scare. Libya, Bahrain, Turkey and Singapore which employ tens of thousands of OCWs have recently banned the entry of Filipinos because of news that SARS has afflicted the country. The regime is likewise worried about a further collapse in tourism and a further contraction in foreign investments.
The regime�s desperation to earn dollars is in fact a more primary concern compared to any precautionary measure. For instance, the government flip-flopped on its policy regarding Filipinos who wish to work in countries severely affected by SARS, such as Hongkong. In March, the government announced a ban on sending workers to Hongkong, only to rescind it very soon after due to its fear of a reduction in the dollar remittances that have been propping up the Philippine economy and complaints from those who want to work in Hongkong. They would rather face the risk of SARS, they said, than die here of starvation.
The truth is that the reactionary government has no decent program to deal with an epidemic like SARS or any serious illness that may ravage the country, for that matter. The regime boasts of having automatically allotted P1.5 billion for anti-SARS programs. But this is a tiny amount compared to the people�s gigantic health needs. The senate has also asked where the funds have gone since they fail to see any significant improvement in anti-SARS equipment and programs. The regime assigned the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) to concentrate on SARS victims, but the facility has only 50 beds. Other patients at the RITM who had serious illnesses that RITM specializes in were forced to transfer to other hospitals.
Public sector health workers who are expected to care directly for SARS patients, and who are among the groups most vulnerable to the disease, are woefully lacking in protection. There is a serious lack of N95 masks issued to them. Public hospitals also lack equipment, medicine and personnel. Due to the lack of personnel, government health workers are forced to work their fingers to the bone. Despite all this, they receive low wages. Also, the government has never allotted funds for benefits such as hazard pay, overtime pay and night shift differential pay. This pitiable state persists in spite of the threat posed by SARS.
In fact, health workers have practically no protection against any disease. When they do fall ill, applying for a loan at the Government Service Insurance System is an uphill climb even if their illness is work-related.
The majority of the Filipino people are vulnerable to so many diseases aside from SARS because of the reactionary government�s blatant neglect. This year, the government budget for the entire Department of Health amounts to a mere P9.9 billion, equivalent to 1.2% of the overall budget of P804 billion. On the other hand, P48.6 billion or 27.7% has been allotted to debt service.
The yet incurable SARS is just one of the dangers faced by so many Filipinos who fall ill and die of simple, easily avoidable and curable diseases like tuberculosis (TB), malaria and dengue and even mere diarrhea.
Thirty million Filipinos or 30% of the population has TB and 75 die from it daily, even as the disease has been eradicated in developed countries. Malaria is a health problem in 66 or 84% of the country�s provinces. Dengue epidemics ravage cities and towns almost every two years. The victims are all impoverished folk deprived of care by the government.
As protesting health workers say, it is SARS that is behind all of this�the Severely Anemic Resources for Health Services.
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