Science and politics

IT is dangerous when our leaders ignore science. The missteps and wrong decisions made in relation to the coronavirus disease of 2019 (Covid-19) are testament to the terrifying consequences this can inflict. The United States of America is living proof of the folly of a Donald Trump who ignored scientific advice, lied about the pandemic, opposed a mask mandate and thought that injecting bleach can kill the virus. And the US is now paying the price with millions dying of Covid-19 and millions more infected.

Here at home, we saw the folly of our own president, who once joked about slapping the virus, preferring retired military generals over medical experts to lead his task forces to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. While President Rodrigo Duterte is not as vulgarly anti-science as Trump and is willing to give scientific experts some modicum of space to be heard, we still reap the whirlwind of a less-than ideal response. Peeping behind the façade of giving the likes of Dr. Edsel Salvana some space are the instances when government functionaries would smack down expertise. Duterte spokesman Harry Roque Jr. once scolded Octa Research for issuing warnings about the pandemic.