The Philippines’ COVID-19 Response
The Philippine response to COVID-19 has been described as being one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. Why has the Philippine government relied heavily on draconian measures in its “war” against COVID-19? And what discourse informed the framing of its response as a war against the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103421994261 |
| _version_ | 1818572204161368064 |
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| author | Karl Hapal |
| author_facet | Karl Hapal |
| author_sort | Karl Hapal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Philippine response to COVID-19 has been described as being one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. Why has the Philippine government relied heavily on draconian measures in its “war” against COVID-19? And what discourse informed the framing of its response as a war against the virus? This article argues that the government’s reliance on draconian measures was a consequence of securitising COVID-19, appreciating the virus as an “existential threat.” The securitisation of COVID-19 was reinforced with a narrative characterising the situation of the country as being at war against an “unseen enemy.” This war-like narrative, however, invariably produced a subject, the pasaway. As the perpetual enemy of health and order, the pasaway became the target of disciplining and policing. The targeting of the pasaway was informed by deep-seated class prejudices and Duterte’s authoritarian tendencies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T18:54:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d639ff651f084eeab77e9661a039ee46 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1868-1034 1868-4882 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T18:54:04Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| spelling | doaj.art-d639ff651f084eeab77e9661a039ee462022-12-21T22:51:09ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs1868-10341868-48822021-08-014010.1177/1868103421994261The Philippines’ COVID-19 ResponseKarl Hapal0 Department of Community Development, College of Social Work and Community Development, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, PhilippinesThe Philippine response to COVID-19 has been described as being one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. Why has the Philippine government relied heavily on draconian measures in its “war” against COVID-19? And what discourse informed the framing of its response as a war against the virus? This article argues that the government’s reliance on draconian measures was a consequence of securitising COVID-19, appreciating the virus as an “existential threat.” The securitisation of COVID-19 was reinforced with a narrative characterising the situation of the country as being at war against an “unseen enemy.” This war-like narrative, however, invariably produced a subject, the pasaway. As the perpetual enemy of health and order, the pasaway became the target of disciplining and policing. The targeting of the pasaway was informed by deep-seated class prejudices and Duterte’s authoritarian tendencies.https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103421994261 |
| spellingShingle | Karl Hapal The Philippines’ COVID-19 Response Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| title | The Philippines’ COVID-19 Response |
| title_full | The Philippines’ COVID-19 Response |
| title_fullStr | The Philippines’ COVID-19 Response |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Philippines’ COVID-19 Response |
| title_short | The Philippines’ COVID-19 Response |
| title_sort | philippines covid 19 response |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103421994261 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT karlhapal thephilippinescovid19response AT karlhapal philippinescovid19response |