In response to the exponential growth of COVID-19 infected patients since the first confirmed case in the Philippines, the Zuellig Family Foundation held a virtual round table discussion (RTD) to talk about the local government units’ (LGUs) role in combating the threats of COVID-19.

Under Proclamation No. 922, all government offices and LGUs are mandated to “render full assistance and cooperation and mobilize the necessary measures in a timely manner to curtail and eliminate the COVID-19 threat.”

“As bridging leaders, local chief executives should be fully informed of what is happening, target the cooperation and trust of constituents, and come up with new institutional arrangements to address the emergency,” said ZFF chairman and president Ernesto Garilao in his discussion of ZFF’s Leadership Framework for COVID-19.

Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, a resource person during the RTD, pointed out the roles of the LGUs.

Vergeire encouraged each LGU to align their mitigation initiatives with DOH’s four-point strategy of contact tracing, physical distancing, diagnostics, and medical management to fight COVID-19. Accordingly, surveillance and epidemiology units shall be mobilized to do contact tracing.

Another resource person, ZFF trustee and former DOH Secretary Dr. Manuel Dayrit, reiterated that contact tracing is a crucial stage as it is the key to identifying community members displaying symptoms of the disease, tracking people who have been in contact with patients under monitoring and investigation (PUMs and PUIs), and identifying patients who need critical care.

Dayrit cited Metro Manila’s experience to explain why early detection is fundamental, saying, “We were not able to do early detection in February. What eventually happened, many of our countrymen went home to provinces. As we can see, from DOH reports, there may already be transmission in the provinces –some of them may be carrying the virus.”

Meanwhile, municipal and city mayors as well as barangay captains are expected to enforce and monitor the implementation of social or physical distancing in their jurisdiction. This is the measure to reduce close contact between people in order to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Hence, it is the LGU officials’ mandate to ban mass gatherings, suspend classes, and enforce mandatory community-based quarantine.

As COVID-19 spreads quickly and new protection measures are implemented, people are constantly seeking information. Here, government officials again play a crucial role to make sure effective communication is in place, where, according to another RTD resource person Vikki Luta, EON-Engage business unit head, advised local authorities to conduct social listening or taking note of the public’s opinions, questions, and complaints. Then, the government can respond appropriately. LGU officials must also be responsible for addressing false information to avoid further panic and other social disturbances.

While the DOH has already set up a centralized communication chat where all announcements are posted, LGUs are encouraged to use necessary platforms to reach their constituents, especially those in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. In Salcedo, Eastern Samar, Mayor Melchor Mergal uses radio and text blasts in disseminating the latest developments about the virus.

“People are confused because of many news items about COVID-19 on TV and social media. Access to correct, clear, and regular information will help government in identifying right intervention,”shared Mergal. LGUs are encouraged to tailor their communication strategies and channels—print, traditional, or new media—with the communities they serve.

In terms of diagnostics, city mayors and provincial governors are likewise given the task of mapping out primary health care facilities, which can accommodate mild and asymptomatic cases. This is to avoid congestion in hospitals that must prioritize severe and critical cases.

Bataan Governor Albert Garcia shared they are already preparing more facilities like stadiums and coliseums that can accommodate more patients. They are also looking into the possibility of using elementary schools as temporary facility for PUMs and PUIs.

To assist the national government in medical management, the DOH encourages LGUs to establish their own mechanism to collect and send samples of patients to designated laboratories while the national government is arranging the setting up of testing laboratories in each region. Vergeire also points out that LGUs can help provide transport means to health workers and essential personnel especially during the community quarantine period and take lead in designating funeral homes in handling COVID-related casualties.

Moving Forward

While COVID-19 is the urgent health concern, patients with other illnesses should not be neglected. Hence, the DOH provided a set of guidelines to help LGUs implement telemedicine while the enhanced community quarantine is in place. Telemedicine is the distribution of health-related services through electronic information and telecommunication technologies. It minimizes face-to-face interactions between patients and health workers, thus, complying with the mandate of DOH to observe social distancing.

On top of these health concerns, LGU officials should also consider the present situation as public order and security concern. Threats of riots, looting, and other social disturbances must also be managed, taking into consideration children, pregnant women, senior citizens, and people with underlying conditions as most vulnerable sectors.

ZFF recognizes that all initiatives, however big or small, require participation among the people. Combating COVID-19 is not the sole responsibility of a single sector but requires everyone’s cooperation. As Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno said, “The best way to handle this problem is to look beyond our boundaries. The key is teamwork at all levels, all the way to the barangay level.” The mayor had begun coordinating with mayors from neighboring towns so they work together in addressing the pandemic.

The RTD, held last March 25 and entitled “Working Together for LGU Preparedness and Response,” is part of ZFF’s efforts to continue its mission of being catalyst of better health outcomes especially now that the whole world faces a pandemic. For over a decade now, ZFF has been helping improve capacities and knowledge of local chief executives in health leadership and governance. Its interventions have been introduced to health leaders in 774 municipalities, 25 cities, and 27 provinces.

For more information about the roundtable discussion, you may email kmg@zuelligfoundation.ngo.

After 11 years as chairperson of the Zuellig Family Foundation, Ambassador Roberto Romulo is stepping down this September 1. He then becomes its chairman emeritus, and remains a member of the Board of Trustees (BOT).

In a recent meeting announcing his retirement, the other trustees expressed their gratitude for his wisdom in taking ZFF’s vision—of being a catalyst for the achievement of better health outcomes for all Filipinos—to scale, and encouraging it to forge partnerships that allowed ZFF to reach hundreds of local government mayors and governors who improved their health systems and the health status of their constituents.

The BOT likewise appreciated his leadership in ensuring ZFF’s interventions had relevance, rigor, and impact on the public health sector.

During the said meeting, the BOT also elected Ernesto Garilao as the new chairperson. He remains president of ZFF.

Appointed as Executive Director is Austere Panadero who will assume all responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the Foundation.
Gil Salazar, former executive director of the Philippine Business for Social Progress, was appointed treasurer to replace Kasigod Jamias, who remains a trustee.

There will likely be more stunted, wasted, and underweight children because of COVID-19. Without proper interventions, these children are put to a disadvantaged up to their adult lives.

It was Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who also heads the government’s hunger task force, who expressed the bleak expectation following the September SWS poll that showed 7.6 million households had experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months.

The Zuellig Family Foundation, through its City Nutrition Governance Program, works with Puerto Princesa, Tacurong, and Tagum to improve nutrition in the first 1000 days, and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic as well as integrate nutrition into their overall COVID-19 response programs.

The city mayors aim to address the unsustainability of food packs distribution and cash amelioration programs, and then make their constituents more food self-sufficient.

Puerto Princesa supports the organic backyard gardening by distributing gardening and farming tools, seedlings, and information materials to families in barangays where malnutrition cases are high.

Tacurong City appointed a new city action nutrition officer, activated the city and barangay nutrition councils, and upgraded front-line health workers’ skills.  Pregnant women and mothers with malnourished children get priority seed allocation.

Tagum City’s agriculture office introduced programs that brought fresh produce directly to barangays, encouraged residents to plant on vacant lots around the city, and gave residents free access to seeds and seedlings.

The Senate of the Philippines passed unanimously the “Girls Not Brides Act” or Senate Bill No. 1371, after the third reading.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, filed the bill in March 2020.

Quoting data from the United Children’s Fund (Unicef), Hontiveros said on her Twitter account “the Philippines is the top 12th country in terms of the number of child brides. A shocking 726,000 of our girls have been contracted into marriages they never asked for.”

The bill states that “anyone who arranges, facilitates, or officiates child marriages” will serve a prison sentence of up to 12 years and has to pay a fine of P50,000. Violators also will be held liable under Republic Act No. 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.

“It is our duty to protect them. Our girls now and tomorrow deserve better,” Hontiveros said.

Partner-LGUs of the Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) in Mindanao, undergoing Youth and Leadership Governance Program (YLGP), have introduced or drafted ordinances prohibiting child and forced marriages. Five municipalities in Region 12 and five in Lanao del Sur started the program in 2019, with Module 1 launched in August 2019 in Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat.

YLGP Sarangani-Sultan Kudarat has a municipal ordinance (Malungon, Sarangani) on anti-child and forced marriage. Columbio (Sultan Kudarat) and Malapatan and Maitum (Sarangani) followed Malungon’s lead and are currently drafting a similar ordinance. Kalamansig, also in Sultan Kudarat, plans to draft the same ordinance.

ZFF’s YLGP, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund, is a five-year leadership capacity-building initiative that engages members of Sangguniang Kabataan. Their participation in the Bridging Leadership aims to build their competencies to boost their local government’s adolescent sexual reproductive health (ASRH) program, which is hoped to reduce teenage pregnancy. Participants are expected to take part in their local government’s efforts to improve ASRH programs and policies that are inclusive and responsive to the needs of the youth.

Throughout the company’s 125 years of global operations, and since it established its presence in the Philippines in 1995, MSD has been delivering health solutions to Filipinos, backed by pioneering research to advance the prevention and treatment of various health diseases through vaccination against life-threatening infections like HPV, Pneumonia, Measles, and Rota-Virus; treatment for cancer, cardio-metabolic diseases, and anti-microbial resistance.

Maternal mortality is one of the many problems that MSD in the Philippines sees as a threat to the health and well-being not only of mothers, but also for their families and community. Through MSD for Mothers, the company engages in collaborative initiatives to improve maternal health. MSD for Mothers also partnered with the Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) to improve maternal care in 20 Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) in Samar and Northern Samar provinces through the program dubbed “MSD for Mothers and ZFF Community Health Partnership: The Joint Initiative”.

The principle of “Inventing for Life” also takes into consideration the dignity and well-being of the patient. Through the Hope from Within (HFW), a multi-stakeholder cancer advocacy campaign, MSD aimed to raise awareness and strengthen the fight against the disease through education about early testing and new treatments such as Immunotherapy.“We are continually pushing the boundaries of science with the hope and expectation that the medicines and vaccines we invent will lead to better health for society for generations to come”, shared Dr. Beaver Tamesis, MSD in the Philippines President and Managing Director.

“We are constantly reinventing the way we reach out to patients, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders, as we aim to meet them where they are at the moment- the challenges and issues that matter.”

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MSD has been fully committed to developing an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic since it was first recognized. Cognizant of the fact that success will require global collaboration among countries and companies and more, it has participated in the global effort against COVID-19. The company continues to explore multiple pathways to advance understanding of SARS-CoV-2 and develop vaccines and treatments, including an expansive internal research program, and an announcement of two COVID-19 vaccine development efforts – a collaboration with IAVI and plans to acquire Themis. MSD also announced collaboration with Ridgeback Bio to develop a novel antiviral candidate.

While research on COVID-19 vaccine becomes a priority, MSD has the unique expertise and capabilities to advance multiple development programs for COVID-19 while continuing to advance its research priorities in oncology, vaccines, diabetes management and other areas to address the continued threats from other diseases.

Having paved the way for innovative healthcare solutions to the Philippines in the last 25 years, MSD looks forward to the next chapter of stronger collaborations, innovations and delivery of healthcare solutions for the Filipino patients.

“Our hope, and we have expressed this as part of the industry, is for government to work closely with research-based pharmaceutical companies in planning for and securing sustainable strategies for future public health emergencies, beyond this pandemic”, remarked Dr. Tamesis. “We ask that we make it more enticing for innovators to actually be present in the Philippines through a more predictable and supportive business and policy environment.”

(This story was first published in the Malaya Business Insight on Jan. 7, 2021)

 

Willpower, meticulousness, strategic thinking, and community building come naturally to women. These qualities have not only endeared Mayor Nashiba Gandamra-Sumagayan to her constituents but also helped bring progress to Taraka in Lanao del Sur.

The proof of her hard work is the conferment of the 2020 Civil Service Commission Pagasa Award (Regional Winner for the Honors Program) for outstanding governance.

Sumagayan was credited for turning a fourth-class municipality into a progressive community. She has maintained the peace and order vital to the progress of every locality.

The mayor acknowledges her predecessor and husband, Amenodin, for initiating vital changes when he was the mayor. Amenodin settled long-standing family feuds which had intimidated the community. More police officers patrolled the neighborhoods, curbing crime and drug-related activities.

“Peace and order has always been our top priority. Our collective efforts have led to the various accomplishments of our security forces,” she says.

The Taraka-MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) was conferred the Medalya ng Papuri for arresting the top three most wanted suspects.

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Spending on infrastructure was likewise a priority. With the help of government organizations, farm-to-market roads, multi-purpose buildings, water systems, RHU (rural health unit) buildings, and a Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, among other structures, were built. The municipal hall was also expanded and the municipal gymnasium renovated.

The mayor enhanced the social services such as continuing education programs amid the pandemic. Every month, Sumagayan would meet with the local school board to discuss how the learners were faring and how the local government could improve the educational system. As a result, her LGU merited the Seal of Good Education Governance in 2019 from the Synergeia Foundation, a league of organizations espousing quality education, and the United States Agency for International Development.

Before she entered politics, Sumagayan was assistant professor in English and literature at the Mindanao State University. “I invested time in my work so that I would be able to equip my students with the essential skills needed to reach their goals,” she enthuses.

She admits her biggest challenge then was balancing her role as teacher, mother, and wife to her husband who was then Mayor and was girding for the bar exams. She did not allow the pressures of family life affect her work. Even if she felt under the weather, she continued to teach with enthusiasm.

Further, Sumagayan has made health services more accessible to her constituents. The RHU provides newborn screening kits, incentives for tuberculosis-cured children, and hygiene kits.

Dr. Bolawan Delawi, RHU head, and the Zuellig Family Foundation have implemented various health programs. With the police and other departments, Sumagayan has been conducting an awareness campaign on smoke-related health problems. The LGU has since been placed in the Hall of Fame of the Red Orchid Awards, the Department of Health’s incentive for tobacco-free environments.

Taraka has managed to control the COVID-19 pandemic through the Sangguniang Bayan, headed by Vice Mayor Amenodin Sumagayan.

Through a series of house-to-house relief operations, Sangguniang Bayan distributed hygiene kits and horticulture crops, and procured health materials for disinfection. Frontliners were given personal protective equipment and free meals. When the lockdowns put the livelihood of daily-wage earners on hold, the mayor provided cash assistance.

Sumagayan points out that her greatest achievement has been to empower her associates and her constituents by making them believe in their potential. Throughout her term, Taraka has received the seals from the Department of the Interior and Local Government for good governance, most gender responsive municipality, good financial housekeeping, disaster preparedness, business friendliness, and peace and order.

This year, Sumagayan plans to establish an agricultural and livelihood program with the vision of making Taraka an economic hub. She hopes to implement Mindanao Development Authority chairperson Emmanuel Piñol’s solar-powered irrigation system, an anti-poverty program that aims to provide water and improve crop production in isolated provinces.

“This will not only help our farmers but also our constituents who do not have enough to support themselves. We will be able to establish a local enterprise where everyone will benefit most especially our vulnerable sectors,” she says.

Aside from improvements in her municipality, her collaborative leadership style has also brought Muslim women to the forefront. “Muslim women leaders across the globe are proving that their biological makeup and their social stereotypes do not reflect their potential,” she emphasizes.

“Muslim women are independent and spiritual individuals in their own right. They are firm in their resolve and inclined to lead against odds. Despite living in patriarchal societies, they stand on their ground and let their voices be heard. They speak for other people and show immense compassion towards their communities. This is what fuels them to brave every challenge that comes their way. This is what makes Muslim women leaders special.

(This story was published in the Manila Standard on Jan. 6, 2021)

Located at the southern tip of Bataan Province, Mariveles is home to the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB). In 2018, it was the second richest municipality in the Philippines, according to a Commission on the Audit report. Job-seekers from other provinces flock to the area.

A fifth of Bataan’s population lives in Mariveles, making it the most populous of the province’s 11 municipalities and one city. Yet health services for its residents used to be limited to those provided by the rural health unit, barangay health stations, private clinics, and the Mariveles Mental Health Hospital. The nearest hospital was over an hour’s drive away in Balanga City.

Ria (name withheld upon request), a long-time Mariveles resident and whose husband works in a FAB locator, recalls how she had to fight for space in a packed bus to get to the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) in Balanga City, where she gave birth to her first-born in 2019. Each two-way trip that included tricycle rides would cost her almost P200, which for Ria was “too much, especially since we’re on a tight budget.”

White elephant to white knight

Governor Albert Garcia acknowledged the deficiency, saying in a February 2018 interview with ZFF, “There are RHUs (rural health units), lying-in clinics but no hospital so when an accident occurs, they still need to bring the victim to Balanga. Plus, the Freeport is there, the workers, the population, so it needs a functioning hospital,” then he added, “That is why by hook or by crook this year (2018), the hospital will open” referring to the then-unused hospital, which had its roots to the vision of the governor’s late father.

As a congressman in 2011, Enrique Garcia introduced a bill to build a Mariveles hospital, which led to remodeling and then a retrofitting in 2017 of an existing building that stood idle since, earning it the monicker Mariveles Display Hospital.

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But the Mariveles District Hospital (MDH) would finally open in September 2018. It rendered out-patient and emergency services. And once it opened, its progress was fast.

In August 2019, it was licensed to operate as an infirmary. In March 2020, it was upgraded to a licensed Level 1 hospital just two weeks after it was designated a COVID-19 referral hospital.

It has discharged the province’s youngest COVID-19 patient (3 years old) and the oldest couple (80 years old).

Tracing infected and looking after their welfare

Ria was among MDH’s COVID-19 patients. She was exposed to a friend who had the virus. She was immediately tracked, tested in the RHU, and picked by MDH personnel after results showed she was positive. At the MDH emergency room, hospital personnel explained the tests and treatment she would be undergoing. For Ria, everything happened quickly, efficiently.

Thanks to ZFF’s interventions, the provincial government had the proper protocols in place.

“Our added knowledge because of our partnership helped us to cope better with the pandemic,” Garcia said during the governors’ learning forum last June 30.

For Ria, the two-week hospital stay was made easier by the health workers.

“I gained another family there,” said Ria, who praised her doctors and nurses for their patience, courtesy, and genuine service. “You can feel they were there to serve and not merely work.”

From her first day until her discharge, Ria did not have to shell out money. “I had my medicines. I was fed on time. They gave me masks and soap for handwashing. Upon my discharge, I did not have to pay for anything. Plus, when I was discharged, they gave me a set of easy-to-understand tips to avoid COVID-19.”

Fortunately, too for Ria, she did not suffer any discrimination when she returned home. The same cannot be said of MDH health staff, who were not welcome in their neighborhoods. So the Mariveles government and community responded. The local government opened a dormitory for the staff. Community members gave them meals and comfort food like milk tea. A FAB locator manufactured face masks for the health front-liners.

Service delivery network

Thankfully, too, its health service delivery network (SDN) has finally improved. MDH chief Dr. Hector Santos, who also oversees the Orani District Hospital, said the functional SDN has made it easier to refer and track all patients and not just those with COVID-19.

Governor Garcia said likewise, “There is that highly elusive service delivery network during normal times when it was a challenge for all LGUs to cooperate toward an efficient SDN. Because there was a crisis, and with help from our partners, we were able to integrate this health system that is now addressing our COVID response.”

Bataan’s proximity to Metro Manila contributed to its numerous COVID-19 cases. Acting swiftly and decisively to the crisis, however, has kept the pandemic manageable.