Looking back at the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines five years later, medical frontliner Russ Terrence Dumo said everything was a blur, almost like one big bad dream.
"Ayaw mo nang balikan ang mga time na 'yun,” the 28-year-old nurse working at East Avenue Medical Center since 2018 told PhilSTAR L!fe. “Sabihin na lang nating tragic isipin ang COVID-19.”
The health worker said he experienced attending to COVID-19 patients who would die just hours after having a conversation with them. “Parang naging ‘normal’ na lang na laging may namamatay,” he continued.
Enduring the sweat and grime inside his personal protective equipment (PPE) for 12 hours daily, Dumo recalled going on straight seven-day shifts followed by seven-day breaks at the height of the pandemic. He couldn't get home like usual, as they had to stay in a dedicated area in the hospital.
Inevitably, he contracted the virus several times, though he was usually asymptomatic, if not a mild case. Some of his colleagues, meanwhile, had to be admitted to the hospital as they struggled to breathe.
During isolation, he coped with the situation by playing handheld consoles. He also spent hours having video calls with his loved ones.
“Kahit papaano, naibsan ang lungkot,” he said.
There were times, however, when Dumo couldn't help but mull over his own mortality several times while on duty.
“Naiisip ko, 'What if dumating ang time na [ganoon] ang nangyari sa akin?’”
COVID-19 five years ago
It’s been five years since COVID-19 surfaced, putting the world in limbo, exposing awful leaderships, collapsing healthcare systems, shrinking global economies, forcing businesses to shut down, and killing millions of people.
On Dec. 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) office in China said it had picked up a media statement from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission’s website on cases of “viral pneumonia” in Hubei province.
The WHO activated emergency systems on Jan. 1, 2020, informed the world on Jan. 4, published its first set of comprehensive guidance for countries on Jan. 9 to 12, and brought together partners to publish the blueprint of the first SARS-CoV-2 laboratory test on Jan. 13.
On Jan. 30, the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern. It classified COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11.

In the Philippines, the first reported COVID-19 case was on Jan. 30, 2020: a 38-year-old Chinese woman confined at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila. On Feb. 1, a posthumous test result showed a 44-year-old Chinese man turned out positive for coronavirus. A local transmission was confirmed on March 7, with six cases reported at the time.
Over a week later, then-president Rodrigo Duterte placed Metro Manila under strict lockdown, ordering people to stay at home, limiting travel and transportation, and closing non-essential private establishments. On March 16, the lockdown covered the entire Luzon and more parts of the country.
The Philippines' early months to years saw the military at the forefront of the public health crisis, community quarantine classifications (ECQ, MECQ, GCQ, MGCQ) that eventually became alert levels 1 to 5, quarantine passes, face shields, liquor bans, community pantries, ayuda culture, daily tallies from the DOH, and late-night hours-long talks from Duterte.
According to the latest update of Worldometer, there have been over 707.4 million cases and 7 million deaths of COVID-19 worldwide. It also stated that the Philippines has recorded over 4.1 million cases and 66,800 deaths.
Last Jan. 25, the Central Intelligence Agency said COVID-19 "more likely" leaked from a Chinese laboratory than transmitted by animals, a shift in its previous official stance on its origins. But on Jan. 27, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said it's "extremely unlikely" that COVID-19 came from a lab "based on field visits to relevant laboratories in Wuhan."
As TIME Magazine’s “X” cover indicates, 2020 was “the worst year ever.” And this 2025, the painful memories, nagging anxieties, and harsh lessons ought to stay.

Philippines the 'worst place to be' during pandemic?
In September 2021, the Philippines placed last among 53 countries in Bloomberg’s COVID resilience ranking, making it the “worst place to be” amid the pandemic. Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, Finland, and Denmark, meanwhile, were among the “best places to be” then.
The ranking was based on factors like quality of healthcare, vaccination coverage, severity of lockdowns and restrictions, among others.

Dr. Anthony Leachon, a health reform advocate and former adviser to the National Task Force vs. COVID-19 (NTF), told L!fe that while he’s “pretty much relieved” now, the country’s pandemic response could’ve been much better. He gave it a rating of 5 out of 10.
While commending the military for being “very good” and professional, Leachon underscored that doctors should’ve taken charge right from the beginning, with Cabinet officials and other local leaders as “supporting cast.”
“Dapat ang naglead ay mga nasa academe, risk management na sanay sa critical thinking at emergency response. Parang ICU dapat,” he said. “Since you have a medical emergency, why would the military be the ones in charge?”
Leachon—who resigned from his role as adviser due to what he called "differences" with the DOH and its “lack of sense of urgency, problems in COVID data management, and transparency in communication process"—also decried the "interference of politics."

Dr. Rontgene Solante, an infectious disease expert, said that though the country struggled with its COVID-19 response amid “a lot of uncertainties” especially in the early months, it still did “quite well." He gave it a rating of 7 out of 10.
He noted that while the country’s healthcare infrastructure “isn’t as good” as its Asian neighbors, its COVID-19 deaths weren’t the highest in the region.
Those that surpassed 100,000 deaths include Russia, India, Iran, Turkey, and Indonesia, with India reaching over 500,000. Japan also recorded 74,600 deaths.
“Despite our limited resources and fragile healthcare infrastructure, we were able to survive,” Solante noted.

For Solante, the “militarization” during the early months of lockdown while waiting for the COVID-19 vaccines was also an “effective intervention.”
“We didn't have the diagnostic capability in the first few months,” he said. “We really [needed] to use force for people to stay in their homes. It was part of a strategy that minimized the cycle at the community level.”
Solante, however, said that when the vaccines arrived, the continued militarization, which also dictated the mandate of vaccination, weren’t needed anymore.
The country’s COVID-19 situation was exacerbated by a corruption scandal under Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, which allegedly involved billions of pesos on anomalous purchases of pandemic response supplies and misappropriation of COVID-19 funds between the Department of Health and the Department of Budget and Management’s procurement service.
Another issue was vaccine procurement. Just last December, the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the DOH over the purchase of P11 billion worth of unused and expired medicines and supplies, including seven million vials of COVID-19 vaccines. The COA noted the "inadequate procurement planning and poor distribution and monitoring systems" resulted in wastage of government funds and resources.
DOH Asec. Albert Domingo, who was previously a WHO Philippines consultant before joining the Marcos administration in 2022, said in an interview with L!fe that while the country’s COVID-19 response wasn't perfect, it could’ve been "much worse" had it not been for the people who steered it.
“What I can say is with my expertise in healthcare systems, we did our best,” he said.

Are we prepared for Disease X or the next pandemic?
In a YouTube video published in late December, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus was asked whether the world is better prepared for the next pandemic than it was for COVID-19.
Saying “yes and no,” Ghebreyesus noted the world would have the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities as that of COVID-19 if the next pandemic arrived that moment.
“But the world has also learned many of the painful lessons the pandemic taught us,” he said, “and has taken significant steps to strengthen its defenses against future epidemics and pandemics.”
Ghebreyesus enumerated the WHO’s programs, including World Bank’s Pandemic Fund, support for countries to have stronger lab capacities and surveillance to detect and sequence pathogens, the establishment of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Germany, the creation of an mRNA Technology Transfer Hub in South Africa and Global Training Hub for Biomanufacturing in South Korea for improved local production of vaccines and other medical products, the launching of an interim Medical Countermeasures Network for improved equitable access to life-saving tools, the co-founding of the Global Health Emergency Corps to empower medical workers, and the World Health Assembly adopting a package of amendments to the International Health Regulations.
In May 2022, Europe, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom reported an outbreak of mpox, though the WHO later noted it's not a global health emergency. The first case of mpox in the Philippines was detected in July 2022. Last year, the DOH reported more mpox cases but said most of them have recovered.
In the early days of January this year, many countries in the Northern Hemisphere, which are under winter, reported increasing trends in acute respiratory infections.
The WHO, in a statement on Jan. 7, said such are typically caused by seasonal epidemics of respiratory pathogens like seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and other common respiratory viruses, including human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and mycoplasma pneumoniae.
RSV infects most children before turning 2, with typically mild symptoms that are akin to the common cold. hMPV has symptoms similar to a cold and infects most children before turning 5. While most cases are mild, adults over 65 and those with breathing problems or comorbidities may get severe symptoms. Mycoplasma pneumoniae are bacteria causing respiratory tract infections.
The WHO said influenza-like illness (ILI) and/or acute respiratory infection (ARI) rates have also increased in recent weeks and are above baseline levels following usual seasonal trends. Northern provinces in China reported increased cases of acute respiratory infections and detections of seasonal influenza, rhinovirus, RSV, and hMPV.
“WHO is in contact with Chinese health officials and has not received any reports of unusual outbreak patterns,” the agency said, adding Chinese authorities reported that their health care system isn’t overwhelmed and there have been no emergency declarations or responses triggered.
Leachon noted that these are old viruses increasing due to seasonality, colder temperatures, and easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
“What we need to do is warn the people to protect themselves. There must be no lockdown,” he said.

For Solante, these viruses won’t be as bad as COVID-19. He, however, noted that the Philippines might not be prepared for Disease X.
"We have surveillance data, but it's just very small," he said. "Kung halimbawa, tumaas itong mga virus na ito, how can we really put on good control measures. Is the government capable of [handling] another pandemic?”
Domingo, for his part, said the country is “maybe 80% to 85% prepared" for Disease X, noting it couldn’t be lower as to when COVID-19 first struck the country.
He likened the emerging viruses to movie stars existing for quite some time now but aren’t on the center stage anymore.
“They’re no longer the lead act. In 2020, we had no choice but to watch the star called COVID-19,” he said. “hMPV seems to be hogging the limelight now, but it's not a new star. It's just hamming itself up because of its fancy name. Yet we know it since 2001.”
Domingo assured the public that due to the COVID-19 experience, viruses like hMPV can be detected more easily as the Philippines already has more RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) laboratories.
“Back then, we have to send samples to Australia. I'm not thankful for it but if not for COVID-19, we wouldn't have the number of RT-PCR labs we have now that can detect things like hMPV,” he said.
Domingo also pointed out that the Philippines, in November 2024, also completed its second WHO-led Joint External Evaluation (JEE), a "voluntary, collaborative, multisectoral process to assess country capacities to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to public health risks."
“There are no scores yet, but they have initial statements being 'cautiously optimistic,’” Domingo told L!fe. “Anecdotally, since I'm both WHO and DOH, I can say that a lot has improved. We’re already executing it. It's not yet fast, but it's relatively faster compared to when the pandemic started.”
COVID-19 a reminder of how to do better
Domingo said the past five years of COVID-19 should serve as a reminder of how we could do better moving forward.
“Do we wait for the next scare? Sana huwag na natin hintayin na magkaroon ng real scary disease,” he said, adding that the Philippines should also have ready funding, deployable people, and stockpiles of medicines and vaccines.

For Solante, previous talks of the country’s own vaccine institute and version of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must come to fruition. He said target venues shouldn’t only be in Metro Manila but also in the provinces. Far-flung areas must also have more hospitals.
He likewise pointed out that aside from strengthening the country’s healthcare facilities, healthcare workers must be incentivized more.
For Leachon, one of the best solutions moving forward is to have a “very strong” private organization of doctors.
He also reminded Filipinos to emulate Jose Rizal and have the “stillness to think amid the chaos and clutter.” The collaborative efforts of doctors, lawyers, and private citizens would also make a difference.
Ultimately, Leachon urged Filipinos to choose better leaders for a better healthcare system, noting that the 2025 midterm elections are fast approaching.
“If we are going to elect dishonest, corrupt leaders,” he said, “then we will perpetuate another error again. We will never be out of this particular hole we're stuck in.”
As for Dumo, he said COVID-19 has made him and his colleagues "more equipped" to deal with such a health crisis moving forward.
"Pero sana huwag na uli magkaroon ng pandemic. Prevention is better than cure," he said. "Pero kung mangyayari man, tingin ko malalagpasan natin 'to."