Without the massive accumulation of validation, the Philippines would soon be on the verge of having the highest number of cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Southeast Asia. So far, the government has focused on minimizing the true scale of the fitness crisis by focusing on the number of active instances, a number that can be misleading because it does not take into account the delay in validating positive instances. The Department of Health (DoH) is frank and tell others the true score. This is not the time to decide on statistics. The public deserves to know the genuine situation.
The DoH reviews its own knowledge to advise the Interagency Working Group on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the government and the public. The right to know, right now! The 17-page report of the Quarantined “Freedom of Information (FOI) Coalition from March 29 to July 12, 2020 is derived from its follow-up to the government’s reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic through the public foi application tracker.
In the 35 programs submitted through R2RKN, his letter concerned “the invocation of our right to data to advertise and protect the transparency and accountability of public agencies, access the facilities and claim other rights, and facilitate positive projects such as political research, making plans and actions in the field … and so that all Filipino citizens can be fully informed and trained in the opposite combat to the dreaded Covid-19. The public interest, according to R2RKN, “will be more productive served through transparency, accountability and consistency of good, applicable and useful data for all.”
R2RKN says that translating knowledge into data and data into policies and movements is a confusing process. Despite all the changes made through the DoH in its reports, knowledge does not give a transparent picture of the pandemic scenario in the country. The Department of Health continues to publish insights, but has provided little explanation for where and why new instances appear. Where are the groups located and in which sectors: fitness workers, returnees, highly cellular workers? This data can only help Filipinos perceive the scenario and be vigilant about how to protect themselves more.
The government would do well to provide, provide and disclose to all citizens timely, accurate and applicable data and data, as reiterated in the R2RKN report. It concludes that “more than post-facto reports, the government will have to inform and prepare all citizens for what it plans to do next, how they can take a step forward in interventions and how the country can move and heal in a combined country to meet the demanding situations of Covid-19, social improvement and economic recovery.” The government wants to fill its many gaps in transparency.