GREED: VIP Treatment for Government Officials and Their Family

As the world suffers from the devastating cost of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone has the right to be treated. In this trying time, we must come together as one, and the government, as the head of the state, should lead the path towards recovering from the damages brought by the coronavirus disease. However, in the Philippine nation, it seems that the existence of Very Important People (VIP) has risen. Government officials are being tested and treated first before the common people. According to Vera Files (2020), “The government is aware of the limited number of testing kits for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the high government officials hurried to have themselves tested even if they did not show any of the symptoms of infection.” Hence, they earned public criticism for bypassing protocols and kept people asking who should undergo testing and who should heal at home. President Rodrigo Duterte, several members of the first family, and his former aide, incumbent Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go submitted themselves to laboratory testing for coronavirus disease on March 12 to “ensure that they are fit and healthy to perform their duties as government workers.” They said they did so as a pre-emptive step, upon the advice of health officials, because of their engagement with cabinet members, some of whom have gone on self-quarantine following their exposure to persons who tested positive with COVID-19. Two days later, their test results were negative. In response, the Department of Health (DOH) assured the public that there is no policy for VIP treatment and that everyone is being processed on a first-in, first-out basis. It was only courtesy given to the government officials. It is the government officials who should make sure that the citizens’ needs are met especially in this time of crisis. They should not be entitled to any special treatment as the government is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Everyone should be treated fairly as it should be. Only when the Philippine government officials earnestly practice such fairness will the nation recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.