As we transition to the new normal and address the challenges that are coming our way, we have to remember that our ability to overcome the problems confronting us during the pandemic has been premised on the equitable sharing of resources. The efforts being exerted to contain the COVID‐19 pandemic in the Philippines are being focused on addressing manifestations of underlying inequities – though that is perhaps happening more coincidentally than deliberately, and many efforts have been highly problematic and insufficient as pointed out in this paper. Because the insufficient efforts have been triggered by the existence of an emergency, most of the response measures are meant to be temporary. People on the brink of starvation have been receiving emergency food aid, and those with no financial savings have been receiving cash assistance. However, these efforts have neither been fully successful nor sustainable.184 Beltran, M. (2020, May 12). The Philippines’ Pandemic Response: a Tragedy of Errors. The Diplomat. Retrieved July 7, 2020, from https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/the‐philippines‐pandemic‐response‐a‐tragedy‐of‐errors/
, 185 Esguerra, D.J. (2020, April 24). Palace: No More Cash Aid for Poor Families in Areas with Lifted ECQ. Inquirer.net. Retrieved July 5, 2020, from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1264069/palace‐no‐more‐cash‐aid‐for‐poor‐families‐in‐areas‐with‐lifted‐ecq
, 186 Geducos, A. (2020, May 30). Palace: No More Cash Aid this June. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved July 5, 2020, from https://mb.com.ph/2020/05/30/palace‐no‐more‐cash‐aid‐this‐june/
Those who could not be isolated or quarantined have been evacuated, but these evacuation facilities are also temporary and the occupants are going to be reinstated in their cramped dwellings that cannot protect them from new transmissions or other communicable diseases in the future. If the inequities continue in the new normal, the normal is not going to be really new. The vulnerable are going to remain vulnerable and Philippine society will not be more prepared for the next pandemic.