Effectiveness of the Philippine Government’s Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The COVID–19 pandemic is a health issue and concern that posed domino effects along with health, economy, transportation, and education, among others. In response to the pandemic, governments and institutions worldwide have implemented various measures to slow down the spread of the virus. In the Philippines, both the national and local governments have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with declarations of emergency, community quarantine, closure of schools and public meeting places, and other restrictions intended to slow the progression of the virus.

Aims: The study assessed the effectiveness of the government's responses to the COVID–19 pandemic as perceived by professionals.

Place and Duration of the Study: Pangasinan State University between March 2020 to May 2020.

Methodology: The descriptive-survey research design was employed to a total of 522 professionals from Northern Luzon, Philippines. Data was gathered for one week after the 60 days implementation of enhanced community quarantine/lockdown using google form.

Results: The results of the study showed that the government's responses to the COVID 19 pandemic was perceived effective (grand mean = 3.53); and most effective on the implementation of physical isolation (overall mean = 3.60; DR - effective) but least effective in the implementation of medical responses (overall mean = 3.37; DR – moderately effective). Further, 64.56% believed that the President's decisiveness to address the pandemic was the number factor contributing to the effectiveness of the government's responses. On the other hand, the general public's lack of discipline was seen as the number one factor contributing to the failure of the government's responses to the pandemic, as perceived by 77.39% of the respondents.

Conclusion: Despite the pandemic's continuous progression, the people believed that the national and local governments have effectively responded to the pandemic.