FROM OUTBREAK TO BIG BREAK

By: Rommel K Manwong | Insights

LEAPS Academy Philippines

April 18, 2020

The Online Learning challenge is yet another Big Break! It is becoming the new normal.

In 2018, our institution started to embark on the online system of learning trying to be at par with the ongoing platform of the international community on professional development. This sort of saying that even before the current state of the pandemic, online learning, long distance, self-directed or lifelong learning approaches has been going on for a quiet sometime. By the time the pandemic strike almost all industries, the educational sector was hit and seen in the dark on how to proceed and keep the business.

How to do it? How online classes are managed? How do we ensure quality learning when internet connections are poor and unstable? What are the technicalities involved? Will it be like a television or movie style where one just watched and have meals on the side when a TV ad pops up? Is it like social media style where one can just upload his face and food? These are some of the frequently asked questions we received when we started our online classes in 2018. And this is how some members of the academe and students picture an online class scenario. A clear indication that very few, if not all, are really not ready for such a development, for such a new trend in education and learning. Even CHED and DEPED are unclear on this matter. Perhaps even members of the so-called millennial generation are too blurred to handle this issue.

Reality check, from our records, reveals that very few are able to manage online classes. Only few can bear such a privilege. Even among college graduates who are said to be “professionals” question this educational solution. Many would consider it equally as an illusion considering incapacities to afford internet access and the technical know-how to deal with online instructions. Our societal problems on the provision of basic needs of food and housing is rather a much more priority among many. This is much a greater challenge on the poorer group of students.

Exactly like the government who is overly slow in supplying basic services to the people, we have a sluggish internet connection, slow and at often times nerve-wracking. Some colleges and universities must be terribly in the same spotlight, although, some private academic institutions have better internet connections. But these few institutions can only address the few capable and the rich. Thus, this remains to be an issue of both accessibility and quality education.

Yet the optimists would always say that in any problem, every dreadful incident, comes great opportunities. Certainly, the pandemic will reshape and change our way of living. It offers opportunities for the academic sector to bring about acceptable solutions. While the Philippines may be said to be far flung as global participant in the educational setting, for sure, online learning management system will be brought to light and become easier, accessible, and online classes become the new normal.

As it is stated therefore, there is no other way for students to cope up and start to live on long distance learning methodologies. Looking at the new wave of long-distance relationships (LDR) took its new form, brought by the millennial years; considering social distancing as a way of life now brought about by the pandemic; we therefore must now consider online/long distance learning as the new norm in our educational system. We must embrace such change; we must welcome it as another great opportunity. Anyway, the Filipino breed of learners is said to be adjustable to such given situation.

***

Read other insights from here:
https://www.pccmleaps.org/blog

TRYING TIMES GAINED HIGH GROUND ON COVID-19 AND TERRORISM

By: Rommel K Manwong | Insights

Law Enforcement and Public Safety Academy 
Philippines, April 17, 2020

The beginning of this year 2020 is already colored in bloodshed. Even prior to the 16-day truce between the government forces and the CPP-NPA-NDF ended on January 7, the Communist NPA Terrorists (CNTs) have broken the ceasefire. As a matter of fact, NPA attacks were reported the first day alone of the ceasefire, and the days that followed: 1 killed - 6 wounded army personnel in Camarines Norte; 2 policemen wounded in Iloilo; 2 tribal leaders killed in Bukidnon; land mine attack in Surigao del Norte; and NPA harassment activities in different provinces around the country.

For the month of February 2020, terrorist attacks continued, even intensified not only against government forces but including civilian targets. There were clashes in Negros and Bohol leaving people on each side dead or wounded. Nevertheless, not all are good news goes for the enemy. A breakthrough happened on the part of the government for capturing top communist insurgent leader Rodolfo Salas in Region 3, on February 18. Plus, several surrenders of insurgents were recorded which must have made the enemy in continuous weakening and disadvantaged position.

By March 2020, while government forces are getting further breakthroughs with the neutralization of another top communist insurgent leader Julius Soriano Giron, in Baguio, the deadly COVID-19 entered the picture. This aggravated the already problematic situation, as people pass away in fear, and further devastating the country’s social and economic system.

The month of April 2020 has made a stepping stone for the enemies to gain high grounds. The government is now facing foes from different angles – internal politics from oppositionists and destabilizers, people in chaos, the enemy from the dark red side, the enemy with the black flag movement, and the unseen enemy COVID-19. As government forces continue multitasking services - their efforts in assisting people due to the pandemic, and accommodating insurgent surrenderees, still various attacks remain eminent. Just currently, 11 Philippine Army soldiers were killed and 14 others wounded in a gun battle with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Patikul, Sulu, on Friday, April 17. A crystal-clear case of terrorism amid the pandemic threat.

These issues, if not critically responded or properly treated, would precede the country in lowly doom. People cooperation is always needed during social turmoil. As people, we have to remain socially aware and responsible, highly vigilant, and supportive to government efforts rather than waiting for a miracle to happen.

From a strategic standpoint, we could be able to win, even though slow, against our enemies if we all set up a new breed - an integrated mindset of a morally upright, disciplined, responsive, and responsibly productive citizenry through our training or education systems, good governance on social services and our cultural heritages. On a tactical point of view, we need to utilize every household to keep and sustain the old tradition of bayanihan and other cooperative means and ways – for an empowered community.

Meanwhile, as we live with our freedom, we share sympathy with all our front liners working around the clock battling the pandemic. We also give our snappiest salute to our brave soldiers, hardworking policemen and their security and public safety counterparts. We cry with prayers of condolences to our fallen heroes in Sulu. Their ultimate sacrifices will never be forgotten.

***

KEEP STILL, HOLD ON TIGHT!

By: Rommel K Manwong
For the Moment  |  An Insight

As per observation, and as per chat with people in the field, middlemen, and a few top executives about how the ongoing handling of the situation, in relation to the pandemic, I believe that the whole-of-nation approach is being carried out in battling the unseen enemy – COVID-19.

A. Intelligence - Information gathering comes from the field, involving the first responders such as medical professionals, the police, the private security industry and our military forces. A good maneuver was made for the data gathered are delivered to a centralized office handled by a joint task force, led by the Department of Health. The media and the education sector are helping in the propagation of information campaign against the virus, therefore creating an enhanced situation awareness among our people (not only on the ground).

B. Target Hardening - Travel ban in and out of the country has been imposed. Home quarantine has been elevated to Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), and now the country seems to go for total lock down. I pray, it should be made as early as possible.

C. Incident Management System - the National government is in control top of the situation, with mobilization of all available resources; following protocols from WHO; and continuously monitoring the worldwide situation looking for best practices and other solutions.

D. Legal Management - Congress has legislated a law known as "Bayanihan to Heal as One Act" granting the additional power of the President to deal with the pandemic. We all know what is meant by "Bayanihan" - a term for united communal work, of which we are all involved. People breaking the protocols and the laws and rules are being dealt with by the law through a mobilized public safety sector.

Now, we have a great problem - HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM VIOLATING PROTOCOLS WITH A HUNGRY STOMACH? A nation over a 100 million population remains in chaos.

My little thought goes beyond our hearts. We call for patience, sympathy, and a fighting spirit. The household at once becomes the best defense, because fighting this struggle starts at home.

Keep still. Hold on tight! And do not pray for others to die because they are hard headed, instead, pray that you could be able to bear the situation furthermore.

*****

Read other related insights at:

https://rommelkmanwong.wixsite.com/rkmcs/blog

TRUTH OR MYTH? FALLACIES ABOUT COVID-19

By: Rommel K Manwong

Opinion | For The Moment

April 14, 2020

I think, this time, COVID-19 is not “Made in China”. It’s nothing but some kind of a Japanese made thing, known as Kuro-Kuro, also known as Haka-Haka.

The fact is, we know nothing! And knowing nothing, we are vulnerable to exploitation. The only antidote for ignorance is knowledge. We need to be educated. For education remains to be the most powerful cure of ignorance. In this digital age, man continues to be ignorant and vulnerably gullible. Human ignorance brought man to believe about anything viral online.

COVID-19 online viral exploitation is brought high by the left- and right-wing social media, drawing the whole current scenario to be scarier than the pandemic itself as it takes just about some kind of madness that has perpetrated across communities and around the globe. Media played well in triggering mass hysteria and Sinophobia.

The Comical Corona

When the World Health Organization elevated the health problem level from an outbreak to a pandemic, many people began to raise the alarm. The state of panic and fear blinded people not to consider official information and advisories. There was propagation of comical theories such as the following: that the coronavirus is a pharmaceutical promotion if not, it was just Netflix thing; that holding your breath for 10 seconds means you don’t have the virus; that a bottle of vodka was a better hand sanitizer than regular alcohol sanitizer; that eating banana or taking garlic can kill the virus; that drinking cow’s urine can cure COVID-19; that being under the sun or in hot/warm place is being far from virus infection; that a Russian lion is out the public for people to keep social distancing; that chewing Ifugao betel nut or “momma” could kill the virus; and so many memes and so on.

Military Espionage/ Biochemical Weaponry

Many lured about coronavirus as a military project for biochemical weaponry. That it was a product of espionage by some Chinese couple virologist and biologist, working with the Canadian government, who stole the deadly virus from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. Allegedly, the pathogen was later leaked at a Wuhan facility even prior to the outbreak. There were speculations that the Chinese military was behind this bio-weapon project. By the time news about the virus went high by global media, China was into covering up the outbreak as it tried to hide the official figures about deadly impact of the pandemic. And the fact that the Chinese Government repressed some Chinese whistle blowers who tried to warn the public about the pandemic, created further assumptions of a military operation.

Population Control Theories

Population control has been an order of business since the Ancient Greeks. Aristotle was a firm proponent of population control. The same course of thoughts comes from the Chinese as seen from the writings of Confucius about effective population control policies. By modern day, Bill Gates openly admitted the need to curb the population as it is necessary for the world’s stability. He pushed for human vaccination.

At the onset of the outbreak, some people began to think that it was part of the United Nations Agenda on world’s population control, taking into accounts the provisions of Agenda 21 (Chapter 5) vi's-à-vis Agenda 2030. Agenda 21 was a product of the Earth Summit held in Brazil in 1992 which provided an action plan with regard to sustainable development. It enumerates actions that would contribute to curbing the ever growing billion populations and to make the world under a balance state with its existing resources. Agenda 2030 is a road map that set sustainable future for everyone, set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, and to be achieved by year 2030.

The 5G Claim

In the midst of the pandemic comes arrogance, boasting and self-aggrandizing behaviors. A few geeks and tech-savvy gained some footing and momentum when they took the claim that 5G technology is linked to COVID-19. United Kingdom and Europe was immediately hit by this disinformation campaign. Including celebrities promoting the idea, the geeks penetrated even the top tier of government. It seemed to be some kind of strategy modeled from Russia's Internet Research Agency, which was behind the disinformation campaign during the U.S. presidential campaign in 2016. Such misinformation opens the mind of the gullible to think that the pandemic is not as dangerous as a worldwide health crisis, thus people continue not to conform to government advisories. As far as the 5G claim is concerned, infodemics – a new kind of pandemic, gained unprecedented speed and velocity.

Eyes of Darkness and the Predictions

Disciples of Nostradamus claimed that the prophet has actually predicted the coronavirus situation. They based this from one of his writings which states that: “The great plague of the maritime city. Will not cease until there be avenged the death. Of the just blood, condemned for a price without crime.” (Century 2:53).

A scarier theory is that one written by Dean Koontz in 1981 in his book ‘The Eyes of Darkness’, which he mentioned a prediction about a Wuhan virus. In fact, a picture of the book went viral and true enough, netizens could not help but freak out. The story tells an outbreak in Wuhan known as ‘Wuhan 400’. The author elaborated details about how the virus can affect the human body, which with accuracy, predicted the outbreak and the resemblance between ‘Wuhan-400’ and the coronavirus – COVID-19.

Even the popular television show “The Simpsons” did not escape being taken out and flooded into the mainstream media for predicting several major cases around the world before they occurred. Shortly after the outbreak, allegations of the show predicting the pandemic surfaced.

The Blame Game

Now, finger pointing has once again into the hike. China and the United States economic power competition have shifted into the blame game over the pandemic issue. As the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States getting into uphill records and China has reportedly declined in numbers, the two world powers are kept into teething each over the bunk.

Then comes information warfare. China, Iran, and Russia are using the old ‘Cold War’ format of disinformation tactics by falsely promoting that the United States is to blame for the current COVID-19 pandemic. Top of the line propaganda campaigns between these countries are so evident from their respective horse's mouth. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have waged a disinformation campaign against the United States in an effort to distract from Beijing’s mishandling of the crisis. This includes a baseless claim that US brought the corona virus to Wuhan. United States on the other hand released strategic communication materials propagating that China is responsible for the pandemic and even haunting European communities. Iran aggressively promoting conspiracy theories that COVID-19 is a U.S. manufactured biological weapon, and Iran is a target. At the same time Iran pointed out that the US is weaponizing the crisis to benefit its pharmaceutical industry. Russia entered the same level of involvement when it leveraged itself from social media bots and troll farms to strengthen the Iranian allegations against the US.

Considering that people rarely verify information before they share it in social media, the upshot would be a devastating spread of fear and hopelessness. The people, not the government, suffers the most.

Think about it. If COVID-19 is not “Made in China”, then, what do you believe?

Stay safe and vigilant.

POLITICAL GRAFT, RAT AND COVID-19

A Criminological Perspective on the Pandemic

By: Rommel K Manwong |  LEAPS Academy

For PG Diploma in Applied Criminology

As commonly understood, graft is a form of political corruption, being the unscrupulous use of a politician's authority for personal gain. Likewise, political graft occurs when funds intended for public services, tasks and functions are intentionally misdirected in order to maximize the benefits to individual interests.

The Routine Activity Theory or RAT is hereby applied to explain political graft during the COVID-19 crisis by considering the convergence of a criminally motivated politician, the attractive presence of a health emergency fund (plus contributions and donations), and the absence of a guardian capable of stopping or deterring the graft.  The absence of situational sensitivity due to lack of ethics; personal greed that leads to a strong desire for money and power, with no regard whatsoever to moral boundaries; the failure to condemn corrupt behavior; presence of inefficient control mechanisms; and bigger opportunities as against economic burden facilitate an environment so conducive to graft and corruption during the COVID-19 crisis.

The release of the P275 billion emergency fund for COVID-19 pursuant to Republic Act No. 11469, otherwise known as the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act" has provided a huge opportunity for graft and corruption among those who are in power. Although plans on how it will be allocated and spent, such emergency fund was entirely directed for pandemic responses and the various departments which have realigned their released budgets, could then be, in some ways, vulnerable for political graft.

According to the RAT, crime occurs when three conditions are present - a motivated offender, an attractive target, and the absence of a guardian. It explains that being able to commit a crime is not enough, a motivated offender must also be willing to do so. The opportunity is boundless, suitable targets are attractive and vulnerable. Guardians are persons or objects that block or deter crimes. Examples of guardians include a perpetrator’s handler or a target’s protector. Furthermore, super guardians regulate guardians, and they can include external parties. In the case of political graft, guardians and super guardians include advisers and political consultants.

During the 70s, Felson and Cohen formed the Routine Activity Theory to explain crime rate changes in the United States between 1947 and 1974. The theory assumes that crime is unaffected by social conditions like poverty, inequality, and unemployment. Accordingly, prosperity creates more opportunity for crimes to occur, explaining why crime arose after World War II, when Western economies and welfare states were developing. In other words, crime is a function of opportunity that does not require dangerous or evil people. If a target is unprotected and worth the reward, crime will occur (Elliot, 2020).

Routine Activity Theory studies crime in relation to its surroundings, avoiding speculation about offender motivation, unlike other criminological theories. RAT seeks to explain that most crimes are routine, trivial, and unreported. This makes it useful for explaining and, therefore, for deterring influential crimes like graft and corruption that involve planning and risk assessment, as opposed to expressive crimes involving emotion. The goal of RAT is to enable situational crime prevention, so that measures to manage, design, or manipulate the environment to reduce the opportunity for crime is provided, thereby making riskier and less rewarding.

According to the RAT, political graft is inevitable and mostly undetected. There will always be politicians who take advantage to generate income and maintain savings through graft. Brought about by the pandemic, the availability of a huge emergency fund plus the likely unaccounted donations are inherently attractive targets among politicians. As said, a target’s vulnerability depends on guardian capability. In the current state of the pandemic where inadequacy of audit and soft enforcement functions are seen, the target is seriously vulnerable and thus graft is highly likely to occur.

***

Suggested Reading – To Defeat the Coronavirus, Stop Corruption

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/06/defeat-coronavirus-stop-corruption-humanitarian-crisis-disaster-response-emergency-medical-supplies/

FROM RESILIENCE TO PRESILIENCE

By: Rommel K Manwong, PhD

For Security and Resiliency Management

From time to time, we discuss about the VUCA world, an acronym for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. We all believe that we are living in a VUCA world, and that we continue finding VUCA solutions.

The Taal volcanic eruption, water supply shortage, power interruptions, household fires, typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, terrorism, criminality, and now COVID-19. These are a manifestation of our VUCA world which give rise to severe socioeconomic consequences. More serious impact on us and our society if we just remain into our current state of affairs.

It is for this reason that we need good governance, leadership and strategies to reform, reinvigorated and transform us from outmoded management theories. Heavily politicized bureaucratic approach and the idea of having one solution to problems should be a thing of the past that can just play the role of a backgrounder. What we need these current times are unique and distinct solutions and critical thinking. In other words, we need a balance between existing risks management roles into a more personalized risk management approach where the integration of roles, systems and procedures are synergized.

In these modern times, we have the opportunity to utilize the intricacies of technology and automation. We observe the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics in place. This create a unique opportunity for us to think differently about what we do and how we do it, which lead us to adapt and act with a shared responsibility to bounce back when crisis strike. More important so from just bouncing back to normalcy is that we can move to a state of presilience. While resilience is focused on recovery aimed at directing us to return as quickly as possible to the state where we were before the crisis, presilience on the other hand focuses on ensuring that we come out better with high performance outcomes.

Under this concept of presilience, it is here where adaptive innovation and agility live. It is here where risk intelligence is applied – “beyond risk management” or from “risk to opportunity”. Risk Intelligence (RI) is defined as a set of living skills, applied attributes and behaviors, that are frequently practiced, enabling effective decision making to manage potentially negative outcomes and capitalize on opportunities (Dr Gavriel Schneider). It enables better decision making and incorporates agility and resilience to proactively embrace opportunity and manage negative outcomes.

But to be VUCA ready, presilience is not just about high performance and outcomes, it is also about constant learning and adaption to grab on opportunity. Thus, there is a formula to follow, skills to develop and VUCA solutions to spread on.

***

Suggested Reading:

https://www.ifsecglobal.com/security/the-move-towards-presilience/

THREAT FACTORS IN THE MIDST OF COVID-19 : The Criminal Exploits During Pandemic

By: Leandro Y Paralisan and Rommel K Manwong | LEAPS Academy 

The COVID-19 Pandemic - while others see this one as a dreadful crisis, others consider it as an opportunity. For instance, the criminally minded individuals see this an opportunity to commit crimes while people are in fear and in the state of chaos. It is unbearable to think that criminals and terror groups continue making profit from their criminal trade while nations are deeply in trouble, while government resources are tied up in combating the disease, while communities plagued with anxiety confronted with the thought of having to survive and live.

The COVID-19 is seen as a threat to the existence of mankind. It brings with it a multitude of sympathetic threats that we have to deal with all together. These “Threat Factors”, at a time when nations and people are embattled on the ground, also needed attention. New and overwhelming information from around limitless bounds of the internet has at this point come flooding everyday about people and countries fighting the unseen enemy. Yet criminals, with no fear, continue to be existent in between this misery, interrupting government efforts to stop the contagion.

In between the global efforts and each nation’s fight for survival against the dreadful disease, crime and terrorism are still emanating in varying terms creating havoc. When Philippine authorities are swiftly staging up measures against the contagion, a handful of these measures tend to impact on threat dynamics and existing crime landscape. This is when criminals are quick to exploit the vulnerabilities subsequent to this ongoing crisis by adapting new method or modus operandi. Among other identified threat factors that would render significant impacts to crime and terrorism includes:

• Extraordinary demand for basic commodities, health care instruments, protective gears, health and pharmaceutical products.
• Constriction of mobility and movement of people across ECQ areas.
• Work at Home System when there is a surge of people pushed to work with internet, digital marketing, electronic social media platforms.
• Curtailed public and social activities will make criminals starve and will become innovative in engaging new crime ideas for the sake of survival.
• Public anxiety and fear that may render people to vulnerable to exploitation.
• If government fails to sustain the basic necessities up until this crisis is stable shall likely result to massive looting, robbery, theft, mugging and other crimes against persons and property.

Dynamics of Crimes at the Current Times

Prevailing Terror Atrocities (Fighting the Enemy in Two Fronts) – At the midst of the pandemic, Philippine Terror Groups and CTG’s (Communist Terrorist Group) continue to sow fear launching relentless attacks on weaker communities, civilian targets and government forces doing humanitarian operations. This despite the unilateral ceasefire declared by the government, along with orders issued to the military and the police to stand down and focus on the fight against COVID-19. This however did not sit well with several terror groups that continued conducting armed operations. The recent killing of a Datu in Surigao Del Sur, and the reinforced calculated attacks on government troopers came as a solid proof of terror atrocities – a show of total disrespect of agreements much more to humanity.

Cybercriminals on the Go (The Internet Opportunists) – the INTERPOL has published significant rise on cybercrimes. Cybercriminals are seen exploiting the pandemic. The pandemic offered an opportunity for fast cash. Criminals took advantage of the high market demand for personal protection of hygiene products as noted from online links advertising items related to COVID-19 selling counterfeit surgical masks online. The seizure of more than 34,000 counterfeit and substandard masks, “corona spray”, “coronavirus packages” or “coronavirus medicine” is only the tip of the iceberg regarding this new trend in counterfeiting.

Cyber criminals are taking advantage of organizational policies “Work At Home” by launching malicious links that appear to be legitimate information from public health officials and other news sources about the growing coronavirus risk (Ewing, et.al, 2020). This instance may increase the risk as employees may use unsecured Wi-Fi networks, handle information outside of secure channels, and may use personal devices contrary to organization’s security policies. These factors doubled the risk of cybersecurity and privacy cases that could lead to ransomware infections, business email compromise, or compromise of information.

Filipino cyber criminals had their own way of competing with international counter parts that brought the rise of unscrupulous deals over the internet with volume of arrest carried out by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police. These crimes stemmed from hoarding (overpricing of essential health care products) such as alcohol, masks, temp scanners and other protective equipment thru various online platforms. There has been a noticeable rise in crimes perpetrated individually and as groups over the internet to include massive misinformation with intent to create public chaos and panic. Cyber criminals are also said to have infected the famous app “Tiktok” with spyware and phishing programs with the intent to collate personal information and unfiltered video material from millions of users who turned to “Tiktok” habit when Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was in effect.

Fake News Instigators and Con-Artists (The Craving for Chaos and Disorder) - One of the good ways to waste resources of any government is going after the authors of fake news and con-artists out to exploit people’s fear of the COVID-19. Nonetheless, such crime has in some degree effectively interfered with the focused attention needed towards the basic delivery of services and disease containment efforts. Just recently, came the arrest of a female suspect cashing in thru fake and adulterated Quarantine Passes. This on top of the arrest of another suspect who went house to house seeking for donations to fight COVID-19 and pretended to be a representative of a legitimate entity. 

In some cases, fake news instigators thru various online social media platforms seemed to be on a race in releasing false information about infected persons to include death tolls in fearful numbers. Arrests were made by local police forces who are empowered to enforce provisions under the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Events of Public Health Concern Act, the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the Data Privacy Act of 2012, and the Cyber Crime Prevention Act of 2012. The most common engines observed are Facebook and Tweeter.

The “TRAPO” Traditional Politics, (Old Habits Simply Hard to Break) – the Department of Interiors and Local Government (DILG) has received numerous complaints by communities over alleged selective distribution of relief goods and cash aids. This despite repetitive warnings directed to the Local Government Units (LGU) and local officials by the department. This happened in spite of the newly signed Republic Act 11469, also known as the “Bayanihan to Heal As One Act” which provides penalties to LGU officials who disobey or violate national government policies and directives during this period of national health emergency.

At the height of this pandemic, a Barangay Chairman in Lanao Del Sur was arrested on for selling Quarantine Passes to his constituents and was charged, along with other violations, including robbery extortion charges. Some LGUs also failed in implementing “Social Distancing Policies” as observed during distribution of relief goods and Quarantine Passes. This would rise an apathetic community on the anticipated cash aid distribution under the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act”.

Hoarding of Essential Products (The Greed in Human Nature) – Greed in human nature seemed prevalent specially during crisis that aggravates difficult conditions of communities. At the time when people need basic food and health care products, the stigma of doubling business profits in crisis situation becomes the immediate priority of small and large business establishments and even private individuals taking the opportunity to earn at the expense of people’s fear on COVID-19. The immediate surge of hoarders has raised a multitude of complaints from common citizens that pushed government to form “Tracker Teams” in order to monitor, apprehend and prosecute hoarders. Briefly thereafter, warrants to seize and apprehend were carried out resulting to an effective intervention to curtail this practice. A challenge however was those conducting the trade online and meet ups. Under Philippine laws, hoarding during crisis is clearly elaborated in RA 7581 or an “Act providing protection to consumers by stabilizing the prices of basic necessities and prime commodities and by prescribing measures against undue price increases during emergency situations and like occasions”. Sad but true, such practice is still being carried in smaller communities in various means and ways.

Drugs and Drug Groups (Evolving Modus Operandi and Continuity) – In the global environment, criminality to include illegal drug distribution are expected to drop down in fear of COVID-19 where people are on quarantine and business operations are ceased. The disease has somehow interrupted the law of supply and demand where market sources are imperiled. In UK, drug related crimes in some states had dropped down to 20% as police chief are pre-occupied in battling the spate of opportunistic crimes as the outbreak is on its peak. Domestically speaking, the National Capital Region (NCR) noted an 80% decline of crime rate when the ECQ was enforced.

Contrary to the above however, this is not all well the case. Anti-illegal drug operations continued in some regions of the country. For instance, Region 7 law enforcement agencies apprehended and timely dismantled the illegal drug dens of the Dante Diocson Salinda Group in Cebu City. Clearly, the fear of COVID-19 was no impediment as also gleaned from the P7.5 million drug bust jointly done by PDEA-CCPO that neutralized Circujano and Capangpangan drug network at the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. Two major operations followed suit that netted P7 million in Cordova, Province of Cebu and P1.56 million from separate targets in Cebu and Mandaue Cities respectively on the same month.

***

REFERENCES

https://web.facebook.com/CivilRelationsServiceAFP/?tn-str=k*F&hc_location=group_dialog

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1848476

https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-news/2020/03/10/1999592/p75-million-drugs-seized-4-pushers-nabbed

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/730610/crime-incidents-in-metro-manila-went-down-by-80-sinas/story/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/26/coronavirus-crisis-leads-to-precipitous-drop-in-recorded

https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/how-criminals-profit-covid-19-pandemic