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[Numbers Don’t Lie, Public Officials Do]
Right numbers interpreted properly is information.
Right numbers interpreted wrongly is propaganda.
Wrong numbers interpreted wrongly is just plain lying.
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![[Numbers Don’t Lie, Public Officials Do]Right numbers interpreted properly is information. Right numbers interpreted wrongly is propaganda. Wrong numbers interpreted wrongly is just plain lying.1/](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZan9yNUMAA_OVZ.jpg "[Numbers Don’t Lie, Public Officials Do]Right numbers interpreted properly is information. Right numbers interpreted wrongly is propaganda. Wrong numbers interpreted wrongly is just plain lying.1/")
Right numbers interpreted properly is information.
Right numbers interpreted wrongly is propaganda.
Wrong numbers interpreted wrongly is just plain lying.
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In the past, the Department of Health (DOH) had been engaging in propaganda. In the last four weeks, the DOH has reverted to just plain lying.
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From April 20 to May 22, the country’s test labs report a steadily climbing rate of COVID-19 positive cases, from 400 to 700 per day. Yet DOH reported a steady rate of 200-250 COVID-19 confirmed cases daily, which actually became “flat” in the 11 days from May 8 to 18.
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What health officials did not say was that the steady number of confirmed cases was severely limited by the DOH’s capacity to validate cases. So whether the labs reported 400 or 700 cases, the DOH validation process could only produce 200+ confirmed cases!
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This prompted a scientist to say that the government “was just measuring bureaucracy” instead of actual cases.
But this system resulted in a ballooning number of unvalidated COVID-19 positive cases that peaked at 7490 on May 28.
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But this system resulted in a ballooning number of unvalidated COVID-19 positive cases that peaked at 7490 on May 28.
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Trying to resolve this huge backlog manifested in a sudden jump of “new” cases, from 284 to 350 to 380 to 539 to 1046, a five-fold increase in the last five days. This again prompted the DOH to clarify that only a few are “fresh” cases and the majority are backlog cases.
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The public is rightfully confused and angry. Why are they only learning about this now?
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Major government decisions, including the easing of community quarantine restrictions and the return-to-work, return-to-school programs, have been based on information that is unreliable. People’s lives have been put at risk by falsehoods.
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The numbers are there, on the DOH website, making them undeniable. Yet health officials chose to manipulate their data to fit the government-set narrative. This level of blatant intellectual dishonesty warrants more than just explanations.
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The DOH is crumbling under the weight of its bankrupt leadership. Public officials must be made accountable for the lies they sire. Too many Filipino lives have been lost. Sweeping and radical changes must be made within the agency if more lives are to be saved than lost.
