Should people be complaining about hunger when there is a war?

Senate President Vicente Sotto III posed this question Monday, March 22, as he attributed the rise in COVID-19 cases not only to the shortcomings of authorities handling the pandemic, but also on the supposed refusal of people to cooperate with government policies to address the crisis.

In an online interview with reporters, Sotto was asked what more could be done to curb the spike in novel coronavirus infections in the country.

"Ewan ko mahirap isipin 'yan. Kasi ang ideal na solusyon, pareho ng ginawa ng Singapore, ng Taiwan, Vietnam, pero 'yong mga yon, nong maglockdown -- tunay na lockdown -- walang umaangal (I don't know, that's difficult to answer. Because the ideal solution is like what Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam did, that when they imposed lockdowns -- real lockdowns -- no one complained)," the Senate leader said.

"Dito sa atin, maraming umaangal eh, isip agad 'yong ekonomiya, 'yong kita nila (Here in the Philippines, there are a lot of criticisms, that the economy or their earnings are priority)," he said.

The blame cannot be put on the executive department alone, Sotto stressed, saying the country's current situation was also a result of people being "too comfortable" amid the "war" against COVID-19.

"Kombinasyon ito natin, kasi kumbaga -- at ito sinabi rin ng isang taga-pamuno rin eh ng isang bansa eh -- itong sinasagupa natin gyera, this is war, war against COVID-19 (This is a combination of our fault, too, because -- this was also according to an official in one country -- we are in a war, this is war against COVID-19)."

"Pag gyera ba may mga umaangal, 'pag gyera meron bang umaangal na wala na silang makain? Aangal ka ba? Hindi. Titiisin mo lahat 'yan eh (If there is a war, are people complaining of hunger? Will you complain about it? No. You will endure all of that)," he said.

"'Yong lahat ng mga reklamo natin, hindi reklamo ng nasa gyera eh. Masyado tayong comfortable (All of our complaints are not complaints of those in a war. we are too comfortable)."

He further said: "Sa gyera ba naghahanap tayo ng masarap na pagkain? Sa gyera ba umaangal tayo sa gobyerno na hindi tayo makalabas? Na hindi tayo, ika nga'y makapunta sa kung saan (In war do we look for delicious food to eat? Do we complain about not being able to go out during a war? That we cannot travel to places)?"

"Kailangan ilagay sa mentality ng mga kababayan natin may gyera, kailangan talagang makisama tayo (It should be made a part of our countrymen's mentality that there is a war, that we have to cooperate)," Sotto said.

"Huwag natin sisihin na kasi delayed 'yong vaccine, hindi rin (Let's also not blame it to the delay in vaccine, no). It's a combination na hindi tayo nakikisamang mabuti at merong hindi ginagawang tama ang namamahala (that we are not fully cooperating and that authorities are missing something)."

As for the government, Sotto reiterated his appeal to also focus on the early detection and treatment of COVID-19 cases.

Had authorities concentrated on the treatment and cure of the disease, its spread would have been controlled and the number of cases would drop a year after it started.

"Hindi sana aabot ng ganyan (We wouldn't have reached this situation)," he lamented.

Sotto was the main proponent of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which included the provision of P5,000 to P8,000 cash subsidies for low-income households at the height of strict lockdowns and travel restrictions in the country due to the COVID-19 outbreak last year.

He admitted that the financial assistance was "not ideal."

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently reported that unemployment rate in soared to 10.3 percent in 2020 due to the quarantine restrictions, business closures and distancing measures implemented since the start of the pandemic.

This translates to 4.5 million jobless Filipinos.