Preparedness, Agility, and the Philippine Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Early Phase in Comparative Southeast Asian Perspective

Was the Philippines prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic? Did the government take early and effective action that can be characterized as strategically agile? Thisarticle answers these questions by reconstructing the chronology of the Philippine government’s response to the pandemic during the early p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Aguilar Jr., Filomeno V.
Format: text
Published: Archīum Ateneo 2020
Online Access:https://archium.ateneo.edu/phstudies/vol68/iss3/6
https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/phstudies/article/1056/viewcontent/Preparedness_2C_20Agility_20_5Bvol._2068_20nos._203_E2_80_934_20_282020_29_20373_E2_80_93421_5D.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Ateneo De Manila University
Description
Summary:Was the Philippines prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic? Did the government take early and effective action that can be characterized as strategically agile? Thisarticle answers these questions by reconstructing the chronology of the Philippine government’s response to the pandemic during the early phase. It focuses on three issues: virus importation (specifically the first Covid-19 case), testing, and contact tracing. The Philippine response is contrasted with those of Thailand and Vietnam, which, unlike the Philippines, have succeeded in lowering per capita mortality rate. Deficient in strategic agility, the Philippines failed to consider early on a scenario of extreme disease outbreak. KEYWORDS: COVID-19 PANDEMIC • AGILE GOVERNANCE • DISEASE SURVEILLANCE • CONTAINMENT STRATEGY • HEALTH SECURITY