ADB findings shatter ‘pasaway’ myth

ON how majority of Filipinos behaved during the lockdown and how they complied with the health guidelines from the authorities, only three words apply: obedient, compliant, acquiescent. They hunkered down in their homes and ventured out rarely. On the rare occasions that they left their homes, it was mostly to buy food or medicine and basic necessities. Even those with medical issues mostly postponed their schedules with doctors and hospitals — the risk of getting the virus outweighing the need to get urgent medical attention.

Truly obedient, compliant, acquiescent. And these behavioral patterns were not just the uneducated, wild and loosely grounded claims of laymen. These were the recent findings of the study made by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral institution without bias and partisanship .