Anatomy of a Failed Pandemic Response

The Philippines has imposed one of the longest lockdown in the world, and yet it has the most number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia. Its economy is on its knees. Poor families are still waiting to receive aid because its distribution was bungled up. There is lack of transparency in reporting fund spending, and a clear strategic direction to contain the pandemic is absent. Even in a health crisis, the government is employing the instruments of lawfare, using legal framework to go against critics and opponents of President Duterte.
 
Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, unjustly detained for speaking truth to power, dissects the Anatomy of a Failed Pandemic Response.