Who are the people behind the Western Visayas Regional Taskforce COVID-19 Tracker? In this time of the pandemic, let’s get to know the Ilonggos who help disseminate COVID-19 related information.
Our health professionals and frontliners work tirelessly to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Iloilo. We believe that their oath to serve the public has gone beyond the realms of this universe. Just to keep us safe in this era of pandemic.
As our health workers tirelessly battle the strain in hospitals and medical centers, we also give a salute to our other heroes who have the epic role of disseminating COVID-19–related information to the public through various channels available to them – social media, websites, apps, and more.
Information dissemination on COVID-19 needs certain requirements from verified agencies, channels, and organization. It needs to be critical, reliable, and correct because we just can’t afford to make mistakes and send people in a frenzy. So, creating an information management system requires a prompt response, data gathering, organizing, and storage of information for public dissemination.
JC Palmes – WebDevStudios
JC is a Frontend Engineer at WebDevStudios. Her main role is to transform design into code and to make sure that everything looks pretty regardless of media. She works alongside amazing people who create awesome WordPress themes. Her first contact with WordPress was 12 years ago while working as a writer.
Western Visayas Regional Taskforce Covid19 Tracker
Take it from JC Mae Zamora Palmes, frontend engineer of WebDevStudios, together with Jet Beray, Mark Chu, and Jingo Rodriguez, who created the Western Visayas Regional Taskforce COVID-19 Tracker.
“We decided that we need to do something in order to get relevant information for Western Visayas,” JC said. “This was mostly brought about by the frustration of having to go through various hoops just to get the info that we need.”
Data gathering and fact-checking are never easy especially on epidemiological information that mirrors the exact cases in our society.
“During the first version, we were able to get info automatically from DOH’s COVID tracker but because they changed things quite a few times and it’s no longer easy to get the information we need automatically, we decided to go with a manual approach which is not ideal but it is something that we just have to do in order to make sure that we have accurate data,” JC mentioned.
Cross-checking is a must when creating a verified tracker that needs constant updates from our health officials. Disseminating the wrong information can cause panic and mass spread of fake news on social media.
“It’s a waiting game,” she said. “We wait until we have the official information from DOH and we add details to the site manually. We have work, so whoever is free when the information is up added that to the site.”
The advancement in technology, plus the constricting effects of COVID-19 impacted how ICT professionals publish quality of information. Facebook and various organizations are adamant to wipeout any significant sign of fake news by studying algorithms of social media.
The constant changes in data and channel proved to add more pressure to the delivery of COVID-19 information. Will this add despondency among our IT members?
“This is our pet project and we did it because we saw the need and we know that we have the bandwidth to create an information tracker in the fastest and most efficient way possible,” JC said. “Feeling down won’t really help, we just do what we can when we can.”
Battling misinformation to save lives
You’ve probably heard so many times on Facebook about the widespread number of COVID-19 positive cases in their area. Here are some of them:
“No, he’s from Bacolod, not in Jaro!”
“But, manang told me he died in a hospital in Iloilo!”
“PLEZ be CarefUl every bOdy! May PUI sa aton barangay! Indi anay mag-gwa!”
Amidst the rising cases in the Philippines, is the growing feeling of fear within the community that puts lives at stake. Unreliable information can cause panic, discrimination, and danger, especially when trying unproven medications or remedies to cure COVID-19.
“Nurses from XYZ hospital not welcome.”
“LSI stay away from barangay!”
Falsehood becomes a commodity in a commonplace on online platforms. In a time of fear, uncertainties grew, and thus, people’s perception of the virus alters according to what we see in social media. When misinformation is amplified, it has a marginal impact that negated and nullifies organizations publishing the correct COVID-19 updates.
Is the government of any help?
Due to how poorly our government thrusts their “well-meaning aid” to the public. It’s no wonder why so many people share fake news because they can’t even trust the government anymore.
It’s baffling how our government officials respond to the pandemic. They create more chaos and misinformation on epidemiological information – the number of cases – usually late.
While our national officials have a lot in their hands than proactively create a good COVID-19 response, Iloilo is doing its part in mitigating these risks.
Call it a country within a country.
Wakanda.
Iloilo vows to improve truthful information to dispel fake news. The province proactively shares data accordingly. Of course, it’s not just walking in rainbows, as access to COVID-19 information from official sources is hard. But, credibility during the crisis should be upheld.
What’s next?
“[We’re] still updating the WVCTx.com site so that we will have more relevant data for Western Visayas,” JC said.
We got to have an interview with JC on how she’s faring with the pandemic.
“It is business as usual for me workwise and for my family,” she said. “Even before the pandemic, we rarely go out as both my hubby and I work from home and my kids are homeschooled so there is not much of a difference. All in all, we are all coping really well, but we just need to be extra careful whenever we go out.”
JC is also the community leader of WordPress Iloilo. WordPress, the world’s biggest Content Management System (CMS) platform used by 75 million websites and pages, have strengthened WordPress communities all over the world through WordCamps, which are locally-organized conferences dedicated to everything about WordPress.
WordCamps are grassroots-led, low-cost weekend events organized by volunteer teams. They aim to bring together WordPress users and enthusiasts of varying skill levels in a welcoming, engaging, and safe space for them to get to know each other and network. This is supported by a strict Code of Conduct that is enforced in any WordCamp event.
A usual WordCamp may feature topics on content creation and marketing, plugin and theme development, or just the latest tips or advanced techniques on using and developing on WordPress.
“WordCamp Iloilo is going online this year, we are looking at a September date but we don’t have the official date locked in yet,” JC said. “WordCamp Asia, on the other hand, will happen when everyone is ready, I can’t give any other information other than that.”
