Perceived Hate

It’s no secret that there’s been an ongoing tension between China and the Philippines over many, many issues. Most are about territorial disputes and supposed abuses of Chinese nationals here in the Philippines.

Now that the confirmed incidents of the Coronavirus that originated from Wuhan, China is growing rapidly globally, many are concerned about the possibility of it spreading in the country.

The total number of nCov cases already exceeded that of SARS back in 2003. Some are calling a total ban of ALL flights coming from China for a limited time until the situation is contained. They believe that it’s the most prudent thing to do to avoid a possible outbreak.

A few, however, think that this move is rather harsh and some even used words like “Xenophobia” to describe such actions.

But is protecting our territory, this time over a possible epidemic, still be considered Xenophobia? Was this just mere hate and dislike of Chinese people in general?

The White House has already expressed the possibility of suspending all China-to-US flights over the outbreak. South Korea and Singapore are also calling in a similar petition. Mongolia had closed its borders. Can we ask for the same or will it be premature?

The reason why this is alarming is the fact that even developed countries with strict border and infection control like Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the US have confirmed cases already. This makes me worry about our country’s epidemic preparedness as we are not capable of handling a medical crisis of the same proportion.

I know we still don’t have any confirmed cases as of now—thankfully—and the Department of Health has just assured the public that our security has been intensified. But we have to remember we are dealing with a mutating virus that can have an incubation period of up to 2 weeks. Meaning, a carrier may be able to enter the country undetected by thermal scanners and would only show signs and symptoms after many days of interaction with other people.

A DOH rep even said that there is no reason to use face masks as a precaution because we have no circulating Coronavirus case yet. This contradicts earlier call by the same agency to wear face masks.

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It’s hard to talk about restrictions without having other people think of it as somewhat “political”. President Duterte has always been seen as a “friend” of China as he’s extra lax when it comes to the territorial disputes and other issues (like undocumented Chinese nationals working here). Duterte supporters somehow mirrored the same partiality towards them, that speaking against Chinese or China, in general—makes you a critic of the administration.

DOH just stated that putting a travel ban would sever diplomatic and political ties with China. The president is also not keen on imposing restrictions as we have to “respect their freedom flights”, he said.

The Bureau of Immigration has stopped issuing VUAs (Visa Upon Arrival) to Chinese nationals. This means that if a Chinese national would like to enter our country, they will need to secure an entry visa from their foreign posts.

At the moment, all we can do is pray that this will be enough to control the virus from entering the country.

(Update: As of late afternoon of 1/30/2020, DOH has confirmed a 38-year old Chinese woman from Wuhan, China positive for the coronavirus. The first case for the Philippines. Contact-tracing is now being done as the woman traveled to Cebu and Dumaguete after she arrived last week.)

(Another Update: As of 2/2/2020, the first and so far the only case of n-Cov death outside mainland China is in the Philippines. President Duterte has already widened the travel ban to all of mainland China, including Hong Kong and Macau.)