Philippine E-Journals

Quarantining, Contact Tracing, and Gossiping

Enrique G. Oracion

 

Abstract:

It is a human right to travel and to move either temporarily as trader or permanently as migrant. The Philippine Constitution recognizes this right. However, there are certain cases and times when government can impose restrictions on travel. Individuals suspected of crime are barred from traveling outside the country. This is just one case that we commonly hear in the evening news. But there are also large-scale restrictions. The Philippines has documented large-scale travel restrictions, such as the cholera outbreak during the American Period. This largescale restriction is once again on us Filipinos because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many other countries which locked themselves, completely closed their borders from the rest of the world. Even internal travel was temporarily suspended. This essay presents scenarios in Negros Oriental, central Philippines created by the Philippine government’s response to COVID-19, specifically quarantining, contract tracing, and how gossip figures out in this emergency situation.