EDITORIAL - The ICC steps in

There will be continuing debates on whether the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction
over the conduct of the war on drugs in the Philippines. Not only because of the Duterte
administration’s withdrawal of the country from the Rome Statute in 2019, which the ICC says
came too late to stop the process, but also because – as argued by the government – the
institutions with the mandate to stop state abuses are still functioning in the Philippines.

Malacañang has bristled at what it describes as an infringement on national sovereignty.

In line with its protests, Malacañang has reiterated that the Duterte administration will not
cooperate in the ICC probe, which is pursuing accusations that a crime against humanity has
been systematically committed against civilians in carrying out the campaign against illegal
drugs.

The Department of Justice has started its probe into dozens of cases forwarded by the Philippine
National Police wherein drug suspects might have been summarily executed by state forces. PNP
officials have said they are open to any investigation of the conduct of the drug war. Whether the
PNP and DOJ will cooperate with the ICC, however, is up to Malacañang.

President Duterte, as chief executive, can stop officials and personnel of the executive branch
from cooperating with the ICC. But nothing is stopping agencies outside his jurisdiction as well
as non-government organizations and civilians from cooperating in the probe. The Commission
on Human Rights has said it is willing to provide assistance if asked by the ICC.

The ICC probe is meant to unearth the truth and hold accountable anyone involved in the
systematic execution of drug suspects, which might constitute crimes against humanity. The
DOJ says it is also pursuing truth, accountability and justice in reviewing the cases forwarded by
the PNP. Whichever initiative prevails, those seeking justice can only hope that the objectives
will be attained.
EDITORIAL - Year 2 of blended
learningEDITORIAL - Year 2 of
blended learning
With 18,056 new COVID cases reported yesterday, and infections again rising in Metro Manila,
any pilot test of the resumption of face-to-face classes anywhere in the country will have to be
carefully reviewed. The COVID surge is being driven by the highly infectious Delta variant,
which is now present in all regions.

The Department of Health also clarified that the number of new infections yesterday was
relatively low due to lower laboratory testing last Sunday. Another 222 deaths related to COVID
were reported, bringing the total to 35,529. As we are seeing even in other countries, Delta is
also infecting an increasing number of minors.

Education, however, must go on, to keep young minds stimulated amid the pandemic and keep
teachers employed. Balancing this with the need to keep students and educators safe from
COVID prompted the government to shift to blended learning for school year 2020-2021. This
week, another academic year began in the public school system with blended learning still in
place.

The past year has shown the limits of distance learning in a country where many families cannot
afford the technology requirements for this learning mode. Among the poor, cramped dwellings
do not provide the proper environment for education. Blended learning also requires greater
involvement of parents in their children’s education – a role that many parents lack the time or
capability to perform. Teachers, meanwhile, have complained about limited support for their
gadget needs and the production of learning modules.

Distance learning has also taken a toll on the mental health of school children, according to child
welfare organizations. Still, with minors not covered by the vaccination drive due to limited
supply, the Department of Education has been left with little choice but to forge ahead with a
second year of blended learning. With more knowledge of the accompanying problems, DepEd
should be in a better position to provide solutions.
Is it the ripe time to vaccinate the
minors?
As adults all over the country continue to be vaccinated, with some cities already achieving
a certain level of herd protection, the government has announced that it may start
vaccinating children and teens as early as October. The priority would be those with
comorbidities.

This announcement is in step with initiatives from other countries, particularly from the
United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which said that “although
fewer children have been infected with COVID-19 compared to adults, children can still be
infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, get sick from it, or spread the virus to
others.”

The CDC then recommends everyone 12 years and older get a COVID-19 vaccination to
help protect against the disease. It further added: “Widespread vaccination is a critical tool
to help stop the pandemic. People who are fully vaccinated can resume activities that they
did prior to the pandemic.”

This has prompted local governmeed local government units to start opening the online
registration for those 12 to 17 years old. The cities of Manila, Caloocan, Taguig, Pateros,
among others have announced on their official Facebook pages the pre-registration
guidelines. In Quezon City, for example, it is now gathering an official list of students from
private and public schools. QC’s mayor said it is important for the minors to be vaccinated
as soon as possible as they comprise more than 30 percent of the city’s population

Though the government, particularly the IATF, has yet to greenlight the inoculation for
minors, some groups have expressed their concern, especially when it comes to vaccine
supply. Two groups, namely the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) and the Pediatric
Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP) have urged the government to
“vaccinate a sufficient percentage of the adult population, before moving to minors” and to
“take into consideration the vaccine supply and groups with comorbidities.”

In their statement, haste must not be the prime motivaion as it said: “Adults and more
vulnerable age groups should still be prioritized in the vaccination rollout, with the
aim of equitable distribution among different regions of the country. Once there is a
sufficient percentage vaccinated in the priority adult groups, then those 12 years old
and above may be considered for vaccination.” ion as it said: “Adults and more
vulnerable age groups should still be prioritized in the vaccination rollout, with the
aim of equitable distribution among different regions of the country. Once there is a
sufficient percentage vaccinated in the priority adult groups, then those 12 years old
and above may be considered for vaccination.”

As of the moment, the Department of Health has not released any proper recommendation
for minors to be vaccinated against COVID-19, even though studies abroad have showed the
efficacy of vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for emergency use. The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) Philippines has also just recently approved the use of Moderna for
minors, which comes after its approval of Pfizer vaccine in June.

Calls to expand the vaccination coverage seems to be growing louder, especially as positive
COVID cases are rising or remain at a high infection rate on a daily basis. But on the other
hand, there are still issues when it comes to vaccine supply and making sure that the
majority of the adult population are inoculated to achieve nationwide immunity. Time can
only tell when it is possible for kids to be fully vaccinated so that their parents could sigh in
relief and feel their worries melt away. But for the meantime, whether one is a minor or not,
it is still better to mask up.