\" 30 June 2020 4p \ i goa? Harry Roque a Presidential Spokesperson Inter-Agency Task on Emerging Infectious Diseases (LATE) Spokesperson Dear Secretary Roque: Thank you for your commitment to public discourse as regards government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As per your feedback, we are sending you this letter to signify our own commitment to more open lines of communication. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have stood firm on the belief that our country can only get through this crisis if all sectors of society pull together towards a shared goal: Surviving, adapting to the changes it may bring, and building a better normal for all. Our office, for example, has shifted almost all our operations to augmenting the government's response efforts. We have been involved in providing transportation to frontline workers, distributing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and relief goods to those in need, providing access to basic necessities, helping our countrymen avail of government services, and many more, Aside from these relief and augmentation efforts, we have also engaged different advocacy groups to solicit their recommendations and advice on how to move forward. Thave always believed that the more voices are heard, the more solutions are created, We have met with several groups such as data analysts, professional educators, economists, advocates, health experts, and experts on the national budget. One problem these groups have in common is the lack of data available to the public regarding the COVID-19 response efforts of the government. Precise and accurate data is a must; it allows us to formulate sound recommendations and well thought-out decisions in a crisis like this. In this light, as you have already publicly requested, please allow me to extend to your office our observations in the daily course of our work, and the questions and recommendations that came out during the various meetings we attended. On Public Health Data The Department of Health (DOH) has constantly been updating their website on the most current statistics regarding COVID-19 in the Philippines. However, there are important points that are not available and inconsistencies that affect the integrity of the data. 1. Discrepancies in available data, the system of reporting positive cases as either fresh or late, and the presence of data that still needs to be validated, have all caused confusion. In order to dispel such confusion or misunderstanding, may we request a detailed explanation of the process for reporting COVID-19 cases from the local level to the national level. In addition, we ask the following questions, the answers to which may farther shed light on the issue: 100 11" Se, Barangay Mariana, New Manila, Quezon City 1112 wwwovpgoveph|wwwlenirobreda.coma. What are the particulars of the data lifecycle management related to COVID-19, from capture and acquisition, to entry and storage, to usage and publication, and finally to archiving? b. What is the process for validating data received from sources? ¢. Howare errors detected? Are these cascaded down to the sources? 4. Are there metrics collected on source level corrections detected historically? e. What happens with all those “unknown/for validation” data? How are they reconciled and what are the adjustments made for reconciliation? £ Of what value is keeping the classification of late and fresh cases, instead of plotting and communicating a cohesive epidemic curve for the country? This might perhaps better show us the historical trend of infections and will give a more factual analysis if we are making progress, & There is a discrepancy between the official count of 36,438 and the number of people who had positive results, at 46,335 as of 20 June 2020. According to the DOH, this is because they have to validate the positive tests first before these are included in the official count. How is this validation done and what steps are being taken to make sure there are less discrepancies moving forward? 2. During a Senate hearing last May, it was mentioned that DOH is targeting to hire around 136,000 contact tracers. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) subsequently said that around 80,000 contact tracers will be needed nationwide. Recently, there was a statement from the IATF Spokesperson that the DILG will hire 50,000 contact tracers in July. How much has been allotted for contact tracers, how many contact tracers the government is targeting to hire and their status? It might be of better use to the public if reports regarding this issue are constantly updated with the following categories: a. Number of contact tracers hired b. Location of the contact tracers (by City or Mus ¢. Remaining contact tracers to be hired d. Location of openings (by City or Municipality) 3. The government has stated that its target was to conduct around 30,000 COVID-19 tests nationwide, daily. Subsequent statements mention that we have already surpassed our testing capacity target. However, as of 29 June 2020, we are only averaging around 14,000 test results per day according to the DOH website. Why are we only able to conduct half of what we targeted? How many tests are being conducted each day? What is the disaggregated testing capacity and actual tests done per region, city, or municipality? ‘Moving forward, have we come up with a detailed criteria or system to identify whom to target? 4, In the past few weeks, allegations of corruption have surfaced as regards the procurement of PEs. These allegations could easily be dispelled by a transparent reporting of the status of the procurement of PPEs. According to some reports, almost 40 Billion of the DOH budget was transferred to DBM-PS and PITC to buy PPEs, testing kits and medical equipment. What is the breakdown and status of this? ipality) 100 11° st, Barangay Mariana, New Manila, Quezon City 1112 www.ovpgov.ph|wwwlenirobredo.com5. What is the total budget devoted to buying testing kits? How much does each testing kit procured cost, and who are the suppliers? A table of these data would greatly help in ‘creating an atmosphere of transparency in the COVID-19 response efforts. On the Status of Programs 1. What is the breakdown per city / municipality of the distribution of the emergency subsidy program, with the following categories: a. The target number of households; b. The actual number of households reached; ¢. The target amount disbursed to households; 4. The actual amount disbursed to households 2, How have all the programs created by the government in response to the pandemic performed? These include, but are not limited to, the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) TUPAD #BKBK (Barangay Ko, Buhay Ko), TUPAD Regular Program, the Department of Agriculture's (DA) Financial Subsidy for Rice Farmers Program, the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance Program, the Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program for Rice Farmers (SURE AID Program), the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) Livelihood Seeding Program-Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay Program. We believe that a full report is necessary, containing the following information on a per program basis: a. The target number of beneficiaries; b, The actual number of beneficiaries reached; c. The target amount to be released; 4d. The actual amount released 3. What is the status of Landbank, Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), and Small Business Corp loans? How many additional loans since March have been given out? How big was the average loan size? Did it reach small holder farmers? How much is still available? Aside from questions that arose during the analysis of the aforementioned groups, we have likewise discussed several recommendations on how to further strengthen the COVID-19 response efforts of the government. We therefore respectfully recommend the following actions: ‘On Reporting and Keeping the Public Informed Despite the expiration of Republic Act 11469, or the Bayanihan Heal as One Act, we strongly recommend the continuation of weekly reports to keep the public effectively informed about government's efforts. 1. Adopt the following format in the President's report to clearly outline what the governmentiis doing: a, Summary on what transpired during the previous week, highlighting gains, targets met, and targets missed; b. Targets for the coming week; c. Key targets for succeeding weeks and how these all fit into an overall plan 100 11° St, Barangay Mariana, New Manila, Quezon City 11122. In the summary of what transpired during the previous week, it would be a great public service to include the following: Programs and indicators; Actual number of beneficiaries reached; Target number of beneficiaries; Actual amount released; Target amount to be released and target budget; Implementing agencies mepo se Our experience has shown that the Filipino people can be depended upon to cooperate to their uutmost-- as long as the rationale of policies are communicated effectively, together with clear guidelines that capture what we are trying to achieve and the processes involved. An example of this would be the deployment of uniformed personnel in Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) areas. They were sent there to ensure that social distancing policies are followed, and border controls are enforced. However, doing this, absent a people-oriented lens, and without stronger foundations in social preparation and change communications, fear—rather than cooperation—had become a more prevalent outcome in our communities. In line with this, policies should only be announced after a consensus had already been built among agencies; guidelines should be completed, and scenarios around them built, to a confusion and mistepresentation. The need for this was highlighted a few days ago after an initial announcement that travel of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) was suspended. It was then changed: travel will be allowed only after swab tests on the LSIs have been done. This was again later revised: LSI travel is suspended only in certain regions. And finally, it was announced that swab tests would no longer be required. This sequence of announcements were released within a span of 24 hours. They created confusion and only served to delay the delivery of services that our people badly need. All of these could have been avoided had the announcement come after a quick but robust consensus-building process among relevant agencies. On Budget Utilization (One of the most important concerns of our people, and of the groups we have consulted, is whether our government still has the budget to implement COVID-19 related programs. We would like to recommend some points to create an atmosphere of transparency in the government's fiscal position in dealing with the crisis: 1. Direct the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) to release detailed Budgets of Expenditure and Sources of Financing (BESF) tables for COVID-19, similar to what is released for the National Expenditure Program (NEP) during budget deliberations. This is critical for the public to understand the actual cash position and expenses of the government for COVID-19 response. 2, Regularly report the cash position and status of COVID-19 funds of local government units by province as well as by city/municipality, so the public may see whether local governments still have funds to use for COVID-19 response, and which LGUs need to be supported. 100 11" St, Barangay Mariana, New Manila, Quezon City 1112 wwwowpgov.phlwwwlenirobredo.com3. Create an online portal where the public could regularly monitor the loans being taken out by the Philippines to augment our COVID-19 funds, and how and where these are being used. 4, Create an online monitoring portal for donations. This should include amounts that were donated, where they went, and how are they distributed. On Transportation Concerns 1. We have established linkages with a group studying the transportation system in Metro Manila called MoveAsOne. They are advocating several policy initiatives that are worth looking into given our current challenges with transportation. The suggestions are as follows: a, Shift to a service contracting system where drivers of public utility vehicles are given a fixed monthly salary. This will prevent them from overcrowding their vehicles just to meet their boundaries, and encourage stricter adherence to social distancing. b. Adopt contactless payments for public transportation to further adhere to social distancing principles. ©. Create more connections to the new bus stops in EDSA by building more sidewalks or crosswalks to allow easier access to people, especially those with disabilities and pregnant women. 4. Quickly install bike lanes on all national roads. Government should wholeheartedly support and enable those who want to use active transport modes. 2. The prohibition of jeepneys took a huge toll on commuters because of the lack of public transportation. Likewise, it adversely affected jeepney drivers and operators who did not have income for more than three months. We recommend allowing the operations of jeepneys while ensuring strict enforcement of the principles of social distancing and of minimum health standards. There have been many suggestions and recommendations by citizens on how to enforce these. An example would be creating dividers for seats to limit contact among passengers; retrofitting the jeepneys such that the seats are positioned in such a way that passengers will be seated back to back instead of facing each other; and/or opening the sides of the jeepneys to ensure free flow of air. Innovative solutions such as these should have been studied as early as the start of the community quarantine in March so that they would have been ready for implementation as soon as restrictions were eased. Regarding the jeepney modernization policy, we recommend creating programs that will lessen the burden of transition on our jeepney operators. An example would be creating better and more affordable loan terms for operators. 3. One of our key programs during the community quarantine was a shuttle service for frontliners. These entailed bus routes with set stops and times, which was regularly communicated to the riders. Such a system was very beneficial to the riding public because it became easier for them to plan and schedule their trips. At the end of our 100 11" St, Barangay Mariana, New Manila, Quezon City 1112 www.owpgowzph|wwwlenizobrede.comprogram, we submitted our routes, pick up times, and bus stops to the Department of Transportation. Running the shuttle bus program demonstrated that it is possible to have a predictable and reliable bus system in Metro Manila. Our experience showed us that the implementation of the ECQ, where there were limited traffic and vehicles on the street, would have been the perfect opportunity to improve our current bus system in ‘Metro Manila. As such, we recommend that the government adopt a system where buses have fixed stops, fixed times of arrival and departure, and fixed routes to service commuters in the metropolis. 4. Our office has also received a number of queries from LSIs urgently asking for help. Some ‘would describe their situation as inhumane. We recommend a thorough review of the policies and the issuance of consistent guidelines on the matter as soon as possible. a. The guidelines should be effectively communicated to the public, so that people may clearly understand what they need to do and where they need to go should they choose to return to their provinces. b. If trips will continue, proper health procedures should be followed before and during travel as well as upon arrival in their respective destinations. c. If trips are cancelled, we recommend the creation of temporary facilities that will house these LSIs while they are waiting, Many of them do not have homes or shelters in Metro Manila. These temporary facilities—perhaps_ strategically located near airports or seaports—should include proper accommodations and basic provisions such as food. We recommend enhancing the regulation of transporting people from different, areas. Private vehicles should be checked for adherence to social distancing principles, compliance with health protocols, proper documentation, and coordination with receiving local government units. This will prevent a reoccurrence of an incident that happened a few days ago: Two passengers, positive for COVID-19, took an unreported trip aboard a private vehicle and travelled from Cavite to Naga City. These two passengers did not follow the required protocols and led to the infection of 12 more citizens in the city, thus breaking the 40 day record of Naga being COVID-19 free. Local officials agree that it is easier for them to enforce protocols if inter-town or inter-city travel is more regulated and better coordinated. On Restarting the Economy One of the biggest casualties of this pandemic is the Philippine economy. Many businesses have incurred record losses because of the lockdown restrictions. We therefore recommend the immediate passage of the ARISE bill, which will pave the way for an effective restart of our economy. The passage of the ARISE bill will ensure programs such as. 1. 110 Billion pesos for DOLE wage subsidies; 2. 30 Billion for cash for work programs under TUPAD; 3. Loan Extensions care of the Department of Finance and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; 100 11° St, Barangay Mariana, ‘New Manila, Quezon City 1112 wwwovp gov.ph|wwwlenirobredo.com4, 10 Billion for Assistance to MSMEs; 5. 58 Billion for the tourism sector A sector that is particularly hard-hit are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which comprise over 90% of the total businesses in the country. It is imperative that we help them recover from the losses of the pandemic so that the economy may fully be restarted. The following steps can be taken to restart our MSMEs: 1. Provide more support for the local production of PPE suits locally, including branching out to other critical medical supplies such as the production of N95 masks. Through such initiatives, we will be able to provide income for businesses and work for our people. But ‘more importantly, this will lessen our dependence on imports and improve the supply of masks for the public. 2. Create more flexible loans for MSMEs. This includes simplifying the process for loan applications, and incentivizing banks who give more loans to small businesses. 3. Ensure supply chains remain unhampered and that proper links are created between farms and markets to protect the livelihood of our agriculture sector. This can be achieved by rehabilitating existing transportation infrastructure and prioritizing agriculture and manufacturing supply chain-enhancing infrastructure projects. The Build, Build, Build programs can be reviewed to concentrate on projects that boost the agriculture and fisheries sectors and strengthen manufacturing supply chains. This can also be achieved by ensuring our farmers and fisherfolk get adequate support in terms of training and inputs. We have an existing program for this in Camarines Sur where we work with farmers, DA, DTI, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It can be replicated elsewhere in the country. Finally, emerging technology can be maximized to support livelihoods and enterprises. Our farmers, fisherfolk, manufacturers and entrepreneurs can be capacitated to use digital platforms for end-to-end logistics to ensure their continued access to markets. Our office, for example, is supporting market stall owners and TODA operators and drivers in Pasig and Quezon City through a technology-enabled solution. Via the Community Mart app, customers are able to order the goods they need from market stall owners and have them delivered to their doorsteps by TODA operators and drivers. 4, Refocus our economic growth toward the domestic market and with a special focus on food security. The disruption that was brought about by the pandemic on global supply chains may be an opportunity for us to tap our large local market. This will entail providing input subsidies, access to research and development, and technologies to the agriculture and aquaculture sectors. 100 11 Se, Barangay Mariana, New Manila, Quezon City 1112 www.ovpgov.ph|wwwlenirobrede.comOn Education ‘As the start of the school year approaches, we are facing another challenge in ensuring that our school administrators, teachers, parents, and learners are prepared for alternative learning arrangements. Innovative ways to allow our children to continue learning despite the pandemic are urgently needed. Likewise, education policies should shift to an empowerment-oriented and empathy-driven mindset, rather than a regulatory one—treating private schools as partners who are also hard-hit by dwindling enrolment during the pandemic. We recommend the following steps be taken to ease the disruption caused by the crisis in our education sector: 1. Ensure connectivity in all barangays in the country. One way this can be done is by setting up community learning hubs, subject to social distancing protocols, where students may access the internet to receive their lessons and receive tutorial support. Our office wil be piloting the operations of such hubs with partner local government units. 2. Provide support to our students. A system of targeting should be created for the distribution of gadgets and digital devices to give students access to lessons and learning materials. 3. Rethink how we conduct our lessons and provide teachers and parents with tools and resources. Since students will be spending more time at home, we have to capacitate both teachers and parents so that they can effectively provide support for the education of children during this period. Our office, for example, is planning to create instructional vvideos as an added resource for teachers and parents as they prepare for teaching in the time of COVID-19. 4, Adjust the learning/teaching modality depending on the situation on the ground, Smaller face-to-face classes, for example, can be considered for areas that have low connectivity levels and no recorded cases of community transmission. This can also be done with non-readers in order to help them catch up. On the Composition of the [ATF 1. We recommend the expansion of the composition of the IATF to include data scientists, health experts, economists, and representatives from the leagues of provinces, municipalities, cities, and barangays. This will ensure that a truly whole-of-nation approach is used in creating policies that are not only acceptable, but ultimately empowering, to the entire spectrum of society. Defeating COVID-19 and promoting the health and welfare of our people are priorities we all share, In this light, we look forward to wider avenues of cooperation, more positive and transparent ways of engaging the public, and even more urgent action on our observations. We are grateful for the opportunity to have our recommendations considered. Sincerely, MARIA LEONORGERONA ROBREDO. 100 11" St, Barangay Mariana, ‘New Manila, Quezon City 1112 wonw.ovp gov-ph|wwwlenirobrede.com