Inquirer.net connects Duterte threats to public panic

CHEERS TO Inquirer.net for finding evidence that confirms how the president himself has contributed to public panic which led to the crowding in vaccine centers on August 5, the last day before ECQ in NCR. CMFR also cheers the Inquirer’s editorial on August 10 for its pointed analysis connecting the president’s speech to public conduct.

Individuals hoping to get vaccinated claimed many reasons for rushing to inoculation sites in the cities of Manila, Las Piñas and Antipolo on August 5, from fear of being excluded from the “ayuda” to being disallowed to work or even go out and buy essential goods. Local officials were quick to blame “fake news.” Much of the coverage on TV and print quoted this claim with no other context; but  Rappler, Interaksyon and news.ABS-CBN.com did mention Duterte’s threat of barring unvaccinated people from going out. 

Posted on August 7, Inquirer.net’s “Reckless statements behind jab panic: If that ‘somebody’ is Duterte” went beyond just recalling one threat from Duterte. It traced the public effect of the president’s message on vaccination, including what he perceived as continued public resistance to the vaccine. 

Written by Cristina Eloisa Baclig, the report referred to the statement of Manila mayor Francisco Domagoso, better known as Isko Moreno, that “somebody’s” statements triggered the public’s sudden rush to vaccination sites. The report clarified that Moreno did not identify the “somebody.” The report read: “President Rodrigo Duterte’s threats against the unvaccinated, on the premise that people refuse to get injected, were believed to have added fuel to the fire.” The article noted that the Palace dismissed the charge that the president’s speech had anything to do with problematic crowds; but Baclig presented infograms of the president’s public statements. 

Baclig cited four separate occasions from May to July when Duterte threatened unvaccinated individuals and blamed them for spreading COVID-19. She included the exact wording of the president’s threats in the accompanying graphics spaced out through the article which CMFR reproduces here:  

Not in the graphics, Baclig’s report included Duterte’s spoken words on June 14, berating those who refused to be inoculated after the government had procured enough vaccines: “Kayong itong…in face of the reality of death and the number ng namamatay, ayaw pa ninyong magpabakuna. Ginawa na namin ang lahat. Sabi nga ‘pag nabili ‘yong lahat ng bakuna, sobra kasi maraming tumatanggi.”

Baclig cited two attempts by the Palace to belittle the  effect of the president’s words on public behavior. In an interview with The Chiefs on June 22, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said that Duterte was only expressing his exasperation in threatening arrest for the unvaccinated. In his July 29 briefing, Roque said, “The President’s idea is if we are going to impose a lockdown, those who are already vaccinated should be allowed to go out for work.”  

Inquirer’s editorial “Haywire messaging” correctly pointed out that “the crowding was a perfect recipe for the transmission of the virus.” As some officials cited fake news as the source of the panic, the editorial correctly observed: “Now, where could that false news have come from? Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque can look for scapegoats elsewhere, but clearly some of the frightening words that stirred fear and anxiety in the public came from his principal, President Duterte.”

The vaccination mess on August 5 proved that contrary to Duterte’s claim, there are people who have been waiting to get called for their turn to receive the vaccine shot. The president’s threats caused some people to panic, afraid of the consequences that the president said would befall the unvaccinated. 

The unfortunate incidents have come as no surprise. The lack of a comprehensive communication strategy has further hampered the governments already weak pandemic response. The administration has spent resources on propaganda and false claims against its critics; but there has been very little effort in the early stages of the vaccine program to help citizens understand the urgency of widespread inoculation. 

Unfortunately, the media have lacked the courage to call out the continuing failures in government response, including its most obvious blunders.