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MANILA, Philippines – Netizens slammed Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for shaming doctors who criticized her advocacy to promote steam inhalation to ward off the coronavirus disease.
During a virtual news briefing on Tuesday night, June 23, Garcia flashed photos of the doctors’ – as well as netizens’ – profiles and posts as she launched a long tirade against them for criticizing the provincial government’s memorandum urging its employees to practice “tuob” or steam inhalation in their workstations as part of Cebu’s fight against COVID-19.
Garcia cited Dr Dale Pasco who is reportedly pioneering a study on the effectiveness of steam inhalation in easing COVID-19 symptoms, and berated doctors who criticized the memo, including a general practitioner who said in a now-deleted Facebook post that further infection may arise because of the aerosol from the steam.
This riled Garcia who pointed out that the doctor was merely a student of Dr Pasco, who had been practicing medicine for 30years while the doctor who wrote the post had only two years of experience.
Garcia also questioned the doctor’s business in meddling with administrative matters.
“Ngano man diay? Magbuot ka og unsay among policies dinhi sa Capitolyo? Akong nahibaw-an doctor ka, ngano mag apil-apil man ka diri sa administration namo dinhi?” said Garcia. “Kay ikaw, general practitioner raman diay ka…Among nakita two years experience. Two years experience unya kusog kaayo ka mangasaba. Kusog na kaayo ka manglait sa mga mang-tuob.”
(So what? You’ll decide what our policies are here in the Capitol? From what I know you’re a doctor, so why are you meddling with the administration? You’re just a general practitioner…. We saw you have tw years experience yet you feel so confident berating us and insulting those who practice steam inhalation.)
Steam inhalation, particularly salt water steam, is not among the treatments approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to help ease COVID-19 symptoms.
Not the enemy
Netizens took to Twitter to show their disapproval of Garcia’s public shaming of doctors. By Wednesday, June 24, the hashtag #NoToDoctorShaming quickly soared to Twitter’s top Philippine trends with at least 3,100 tweets.
Many slammed the unfair treatment of doctors for simply rectifying misconceptions about steam inhalation, and wondered why public funds had to be spent for “tuob kits” when no evidence has been made to show their effectivity against COVID-19.
I feel deeply hurt from all the criticisms doctors are getting for rectifying misconceptions about steam inhalation or “Tuob.” Please don’t invalidate all our hardwork just because you think we only have a “two-year” experience presently. We are not your enemy. #NoToDoctorShaming pic.twitter.com/LCStxLSigs
From C. Villar’s famous “Bakit baliw na baliw kayo sa research?”
To G. Garcia’s “General practicioner RA man diay ka”; “DAI aw doc”, “I-google kuno para kasabot sd ka”
This is what happens when we live in a world that’s resistant to true knowledge and facts.#NOTODOCTORSHAMING pic.twitter.com/FnGDoskWeS
Pwede mu encourage si Gwen sa employado to do tuob at home, using their own resources, naa man cguroy planggana ug twalya sa atong balay. No need na nga mag provide ug tuob kits. Dili worth to use public funds. #NoToDoctorShaming
Others also disagreed with Garcia’s basis for questioning a doctor’s credibility based solely on his years in medical practice, without taking into consideration the years and hard work he spent on getting a medical degree.
Regardless of d number of years experienced, once a doctor passes the board exam he/she is licensed to treat people. To get our Medical Doctor degree please remember we underwent these:
4 years pre-med
4 years proper medicine
1 year Post-Graduate Internship#NoToDoctorShaming pls pic.twitter.com/GXkn7rWUhd
they didn’t study for years just to be shamed like that. they’re experts in those fields that’s why they know what they’re talking abt.
please don’t invalidate the struggles and hard work of doctors just bc you can’t accept that some people know better.#NoToDoctorShaming
Pls do not look down on General Practitioners (GPs). Ayaw mo suon adtong nag-FB Live gani. They are not GP "ra". They are licensed physicians! They deserve to be respected. Ayaw sila tawga na dili edukada or what. They do not deserve your insult.#NeverForget#NoToDoctorShaming
There were those who pointed out that medical advice from a doctor with two years of experience carried more weight than the opinion of a politician with no medical background.
“Gov, you really should try listening to medical experts. This is a pandemic, and in case you didn’t know, your opinion as a politician on health issues do not matter,” asserted Twitter user @katheerain.
If, I am going to choose between the government (even if she has 50years of experience) and a doctor with 2years experience to save me, I would ALWAYS CHOOSE the doctor.#NoToDoctorShaming https://t.co/oba9z4Oecx
Gov, you really should try listening to medical experts. This is a pandemic, and in case you didn’t know, YOUR OPINION AS A POLITICIAN ON HEALTH ISSUES DO NOT MATTER #NoToDoctorShaming
grabe what does governor g/w/e/n even know about medicine? she didn’t even spend 1 day in med school then she’s here shaming a general practitioner because 2 years “lang” daw nag-aral. omg, nakakahiya ka, pick a struggle next time #NoToDoctorShaming
Some pointed out how the governor’s actions could further erode the morale of frontliners who are already battling exhaustion and fear of infection. They lamented how instead of thanking them for their hard work and sacrifice, the governor instead chose to publicly humiliate them.
This is the start of losing courage and vindictiveness by our health practioners. They risk their lives, got paid less and walks with criticism tapos gaganituhin lang? Grabe naman.
#NoToDoctorShaming pic.twitter.com/8UDlLZ66BW
The audacity of humiliating our doctors and health care workers just blew my mind.. you were supposed to be a leader and this is how you show your gratitude for our frontliners who sacrificed a lot for us. HOW DARE YOU! #NoToDoctorShaming
So sad na dapat mga medical frontliners, doctors and nurses atong saligan and tuohan karon na pandemya. Sila moy niluwas nato pero grabe ang pag discriminate og ka underappreciated sa atong medical frontliners. Intawn, bisag respeto nalang ang ihatag.#NoToDoctorShaming
Gwen Garcia is now resorting to doctor-shaming only because the doctor expressed an opinion against "tu-ob," then dares her to run for election. What’s happening to our leaders that they have become shameless bullies?
People of Cebu go check and balance her.#NoToDoctorShaming https://t.co/DG5Au9efFK
Here’s what other netizens have to say about the matter:
#NoToDoctorShaming – Curated tweets by rapplerdotcom
It was not the first time for the governor to publicly shame a person for their critical comments. During a presscon in May, Garcia presented sheets of paper printed with Facebook comments of netizens who criticized her. She even revealed the personal details and background information of a netizen, even going so far as delving into her marital and relationship history.
The Commission on Human Rights had reprimanded the governor for disclosing sensitive, personal, and privileged information without consent.
Cebu province counts 669 coronavirus cases so far, with 166 recoveries and 61 deaths as of posting. Cebu City has a total of 4,449 cases so far. – Rappler.com
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