Human Rights in the Time of Pandemic: Policies, Transgressions, and Opportunities

The Case of Two Cities

Abstract

The Corona Virus Disease – 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted the perceived order of societies on a global scale. This extraordinary public health emergency exposed the vulnerabilities of peoples and institutions, particularly the fragility of the social order and existing inequalities, as highlighted by conflict theory. As a response, governments initiated containment measures to secure the well-being of their citizens. These policies represent a societal effort toward restoring equilibrium and maintaining essential social functions in the face of crisis. This study examines the responses of the Philippine government using a structural functional analysis (positivism) of the policies related to the pandemic. This approach views society as a system with interdependent parts that work together to ensure its survival, where policies serve a specific function in maintaining social stability. The Siracusa Principles were used to enhance the functional evaluation of the laws that were crafted. Phenomenology, a micro-sociological approach, was used to treat the experiential inferences, emphasizing the lived experiences and subjective interpretations of the pandemic by individuals. A structured interview schedule was devised to generate responses from the medical frontliners and the Philippine National Police, key actors whose roles and interactions were dramatically reshaped by the crisis. The City of Manila and Quezon City were considered as study sites. The results of the study examined the policies that sought to address the health crisis as well as its corresponding legislative counterparts in the local government relative to planning, aids, and funding, illustrating how various social structures adapted to perform their necessary functions in a time of widespread disruption.