By Jeri Mae Calderon
THE last six months have been an honest-to-goodness economic standstill as most parts of the country have been placed under a tight situation in view of the community quarantine protocols limiting if not totally restricting business activities that in effect literally displaced everything — people, economy, health, education and employment, among many others things.
With the number of contamination seen rapidly rising day by day, there is no certainty as to when things would be back to how it was prior to onset of the global pandemic – if ever it would.
Under this condition, Filipinos are caught in a very tight spot, as the pandemic has instantly brought in not just the highly-infectious virus but also the financial repercussions of unemployment and a slower economy.
More than finances, many are suffering emotional toll of uncertainty while being stuck at home longer than anyone thought they would.
The risk of being contaminated with the coronavirus disease that saw 137,000 Filipinos falling prey to the strain from Wuhan, China thrives and continues to pose dangers of getting more people infected.
While there are options to work from home for at least until the pandemic is over, doubts and a long list of question bug as to how Filipinos would take on the challenge of shunning what they have been used to, amid the government-imposed restrictions.
To be perfectly honest, nobody – as in nobody is prepared for this situation.
But Filipinos all of us are, we are a nation of resilient people, who have been under many types of tight situations where we emerge hurt by some extent but managed to survive.
Admittedly, our government is moving heaven and earth to get past the national crisis on health, economy unemployment, poverty – and most recently, big-time corruption, in an agency mandated to cover the cost of saving lives.
Even with this misfortune, we get to see private individuals step up to fill the gaps – organizing communities in their earnest effort to help the place where they live in.
Offering transportation to health workers, giving free internet access for individuals who are into online selling as an alternative livelihood after losing their jobs with the closure of the private businesses citing heavy losses in view of the economic slump, are just some of what a handful Filipinos do.
Interestingly, while there are those who wanted to help in any way they can, there are also those taking advantage of the misfortune.
At times like this, people should be quelling differences and unite to help other people.
Most Filipinos would perhaps agree that constant bad news gives a notion of how helpless or coward we could be.
On the brighter side, the pandemic reminded us a profound lesson that we – wittingly or otherwise, knew all along.
Pilipino tayo.
Editor’s Note: The writer, Jeri Mae Calderon, is the Mayor of the Municipality of Angono and concurrent Regional Ambassador of Disiplina Muna, a national government advocacy program.