The panic being kicked up around the coronavirus outbreak is beginning to get tiresome. Unfortunately for Filipinos, the COVID-19 scare is the latest weaponised outrage fad the Yellowtard-led Opposition is clinging onto to bolster their demonisation campaign against the government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
While other societies unite to fight the spread of this disease, the Yellowtards are fomenting division. Key to their obsession with COVID-19 is the convenient fact that it originated from China. This fits their narrative to a tee — their hollow criticism of Duterte’s pivot to China and what they assert is his plan to turn the Philippines into a “province of China”.
This is not to dismiss, of course, the disturbing influx of Chinese elements into the Philippines and their emerging effects — some good, some bad — on Philippine society. However, the Yellowtards need to take a more intelligent perspective on their bashing of Duterte and ethnic Chinese people. They need to regard the issues without the partisan blinkers that stunt their thinking.
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While the Yellowtards shriek about the spread of COVID-19, they seem to conveniently turn a blind eye to far more deadly and more known social diseases that kill and permanently injure far more Filipinos. The jeepney, for example, is a persistent social cancer that kills and maims far more Filipinos than COVID-19 ever will. These primitive contraptions also indirectly impact the lives of millions more thanks to the poisonous fumes they emit and the enormous traffic jams they cause. Interestingly enough, Filipinos are in a far better position to solve their jeepney problem than they are of getting a grip over biological threats. Jeepneys are, after all, a socio-political issue while biological threats demand more scientific and technological responses. Between the earlier and the latter, it is evident which of the two Filipinos excel at (or at least have louder voices to bring to bear).
Jeepneys are just one example of many problems dishonestly ignored by Yellowtard “activists” because these do not fit their dishonest political agenda. But in just that one example, the impact on Filipino lives utterly DWARFS that of what the COVID-19 outbreak would cause. Just last month, a jeepney was shown on a video running over a group of kids crossing a street. Yet no shrill expressions of outrage came from the Opposition cliques nor any calls for Duterte’s head over the continued proliferation of these killer vehicles heard.
Unlike COVID-19, no solution to the Philippines’ jeepney infestation is in sight.
Other diseases endemic to tropical settings seem to also escape the reach of outrage fad “activism” at the level of shrillness the COVID-19 crisis attracts. To put the numbers in perspective, almost 6,000 cases of Dengue and 22 deaths related to it were reported from January to February of this year just in the Central Visayas alone.
The Yellowtards are, indeed, a dishonest bunch of snowflake virtue signallers that have no place in a country that aspires to be a modern and mature democracy. They go as far as undermining statements released by Philippine government authorities and direct their followers to unofficial channels. For example, they are quick to flock to the statements on the matter of “vice president” Leni Robredo simply because she is perceived to be one of them.
WATCH: Vice President @lenirobredo gives reminders on how to stay safe amid the COVID-19 outbreak. pic.twitter.com/FCLIOcw4L5
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) March 7, 2020
This is a dangerous thing to be doing during a period of global crisis. Robredo, for one, has a history of making statements that damage the interests of the state such as when she told lies upon lies in a video exhibited to a United Nations forum in 2017. More recently, Robredo also pretended to be “helping” with relief operations in the aftermath of the Taal Volcano eruption when, in fact, she spent most of her time putting up a performance before the cameras to score PR points.
The COVID-19 outbreak is a serious matter of global consequence that demands a national response in collaboration with the global effort. This is no time for the petty divisive partisanism being exhibited by the Yellowtard-led Philippine Opposition. The crisis should not be used as a means to score political points. Indeed, with national elections just around the corner, the shrill voices emanating from the Opposition should be regarded with a critical mind. Desperation, after all, makes for ill-thought-out and misguided posturing. It’s time Filipinos see past that and seek real solutions by applying modern thinking to the challenges they face.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
that covid19 is a flu + cold because it’s still winter, wait summer is coming and it will be gone. they said the only cure is a warm weather and they only exist during cold weather. they’re just scaring people.
“The jeepney, for example, is a persistent social cancer that kills and maims far more Filipinos…”
Actually, it is the driver that kills and maims not he vehicle. There are also more private cars with single occupant drivers than public utility vehicles that service commuters on the road.
Although there is some truth to the above statement, it is still more of a GRP perception than the actual truth (re vehicles involved vis-a-vis resulting fatalities) if we don’t ignore and go by the full Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS) annual report for 2019 of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Vehicles involved Resulting fatalities
Private cars 118,522 80
Motorcycles 35,006 234
Vans 24,959 37
Trucks 18,667 98
Buses 10,841 25
PUJs 10,296 40
http://www.mmda.gov.ph/images/Home/FOI/MMARAS/MMARAS_Annual_Report_2019.pdf
The advent of Uber and Grab is a welcome system of transport but an innovation which accommodates only those who can afford them. Still, the absence of any viable government program, of an actual proper alternative to replace the jeepneys, doesn’t prevent but rather, allows the persistence of your social cancer that kills and maims.
The YellowTards, … and Lugaw Robredo, who flunked 3 times her Law Bar Exams , a fake VP; politicize everything , just to demonize Duterte and his administration.
We must unite to prevent this COVID 19 disease from spreading into our country; and not to use it as a political tool.
The jeepney problem will never be never resolved ; because some politicians do not want it to be resolved. This antiquated means of transport, was from the World War II era…when the American liberating forces, left this means of military transport. The “garbage minded Filipinos” converted them into jeepneys, which they still use today.
The jeepney is gas guzzling, smoke belching and jeepney parts are obsolete and can easily malfunction. The automotive transport technology has already progressed, like the Information Technology. And, we are still clinging to this obsolete transport that is inefficient. Some politicians, who are pandering for votes for those who cannot part with their jeepney transports are obstacle in the solution of our transport problem.
It would be good , if Lugaw Robredo, who is a fake VP, elected by the HOCOS PCOS and SMARTMATIC, with the assistance of the crook, former COMELEC Chief, Andres Bautista, will just shut her mouth. There is no relevance in what she is saying…
Be aware of the spread of the corona virus and the hontivirus …Porky Drilon is already suffering from “swine flu”, brought by some rare kind of hontivirus…that was the reason he fell into a “nap/trance”, during his interview in CNN TV with Pinky Webb !
Covid-19 is not a leathal disease as long as the person who gets the virus was already a healthy person before he/she acquired the disease. But an old person who already had/has underlying illness, mal-functioning organs becomes a real risk.
Maybe instead of kneeling to CHina and asking to take it from behind… the gov’t should be more concerned about the filipino people.
Everyone in the medical community knows that there are hundreds if not THOUSANDS of cases already in ph. The gov which loves FAKE news is releasing FAKE numbers.
Maybe instead of clinging to your Sinophobia, you need to keep your brains in check.
Unfortunately, you love to spread PANIC and everything you’ve said is FAKE, as always. If you think something like fearmongering is a good idea, then you’re faker than I thought.
Where is this thousands of cases you are saying? Are you imagining things? You must be so intoxicated with political hate that you’d spread hysteria and panic with all the voices in your head.