Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya on Saturday stressed that “individual discipline” is a must for the country to win its fight against coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In a news briefing, Malaya appealed to the public to exhibit their sense of patriotism through “behavioral change” as the country battles the dreaded disease. He explained that behavioral change entices the public to be law-abiding citizens.
In effecting “behavioral change” Malaya noted the government will use the “soft approach’’ where the photos of local heroes like Jose Rizal, Emilio Aguinaldo, and Andres Bonifacio wearing face masks will be used to encourage people to follow quarantine protocols.
However, Malaya pointed out that this scheme will run complementary to the current “negative reinforcement approach” that imposes fines and jail terms to the lawbreakers, including the quarantine protocol violators.
With the soft approach, Malaya said that the government hopes to get into the hearts of the people to show their sense of nationalism using heroes like Rizal, Aguinaldo and Bonifacio to be law-abiding citizens.
On Friday, Malaya said the Department of Health (DOH) and the DILG launched a joint program known as “Bida Ang May Disiplina, Solusyon sa COVID-19” to combat the disease.