When one man decides

HAS President Rodrigo Duterte really asked for emergency powers that would allow him to take over privately-owned public utilities, hospitals and the media, among other businesses?

No, said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, vaguely explaining that it’s only for “powers necessary to carry our urgent measures to implement the national emergency.”

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, on the other hand, was reported “not keen” on granting Duterte “emergency powers” as proposed in a draft bill received from Malacañang.

Not surprisingly in the House of Representatives, Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Joey Salceda – a known political turncoat or ally of whoever sits in Malacañang – wants to affix his signature on the draft bill because it would allow Duterte to realign funding in the 2020 budget and to allocate cash, funds and investments of government corporations or agencies to help the people survive the COVID-19 menace.

To put it bluntly, the government would be allowed to buy goods and services wherever without conducting public biddings.

Why the need for additional emergency powers when the President practically has them all already, having declared a state of national emergency?

We could not read what’s in Sotto’s mind for being “not keen” when he has always been allied with the President. But it would not be groundless to guess that many other senators might go with him, probably in realization that following the leader could be disastrous.

One recalls that on March 9, 2020, the Senate – personally represented by Senate President Vicente Sotto, senators Franklin Drilon, Richard Gordon and Panfilo Lacson – submitted to the Supreme Court (SC) Senate Resolution 312 signed by 12 senators, asking the SC to compel President Rodrigo Duterte to seek the Senate’s concurrence in terminating the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States of America.

Obviously, they see the importance of the two-decade-old military agreement in defense and security of the country against foreign invasion.

By then, the President – through Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin Jr. – had sent the United States government a notice to terminate the VFA after a 180-day period.

On March 12 or three days after the senators’ visit to the Supreme Court, the President announced his declaration of “community quarantine” in Metro Manila effective Sunday (March 15) to stem the “invasion” of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).  

By then, there were already 100 confirmed COVID cases in the Philippines — enough to earn the ire of Filipinos who had been clamoring for a stop to the entry of Chinese workers and tourists.

The world first learned about the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan City, China on Dec. 31, 2019 when the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that a “mysterious pneumonia” was sickening and killing dozens of patients.

It first came to be known as novel coronavirus disease (nCov) that allegedly originated from persons who had visited a live animal market in Wuhan.

Duterte had rejected the clamor despite the plea of Vice President Leni Robredo to “immediately act” while it was not too late.

Despite the eventual declaration of nationwide “community quarantine” that has restricted movement of the people, the number of confirmed CONVID cases has hit 380 nationwide, with 25 of them turning dead and 25 already well.

Now, have the senators finally realized that it’s not good for only one mighty leader to decide the fate of the nation? That “might is right” is not right?

Meanwhile, we can only hope and pray that the lockdowns would not exceed its one-month timetable, lest more people would die of hunger rather than of the disease. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)