Division of labor

By Herbie Gomez .

I SEE some logic in the Duterte administration’s “Balik Probinsiya” program. It allows local governments to actively participate in the national effort to keep Covid-19 from spreading.

As long as people returning to their own hometowns are brought straight from the airports and piers to the isolation facilities for proper care until they get medical clearance as we are seeing in Region 10 now, there shouldn’t be any problem.

By making the local governments take care of their own people in isolation facilities they have prepared, Metro Manila’s health system and the national government, for that matter, become less overwhelmed.

The Local Government Code of 1991 significantly increased the revenue shares of local governments but that also means giving them more powers and, needless to say, additional responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is taking care of their own people with health problems. Local governments need to help the Department of Health (DOH) by taking care of their own people.

Before 1991, local governments fought for more shares and powers. Nene Pimentel’s law granted that. Why then should local governments complain now when they are asked to actively participate and do their share in this collective effort against Covid-19?

You may not bar citizens of this country from going back to their own hometowns. Those who say otherwise think they are the center of the solar system and everything exists because of them.

And you may not yell “Imperial Manila!” when you want more shares and powers and then complain when you are asked to utilize some of your resources to take care of your own people. Yes, your own people.

Dili man puwede dawat limpyo. Pastilan.