WE have entered the sixth month of community quarantine, imposed at various levels across the archipelago, and still we are seeing the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia.
As of September 20, the total number of infected persons in the country had reached 286,743, with the daily reported new cases averaging above 3,000 this month. While painfully recognizing that every single death is a tragedy for all, the one mitigating note in the Philippines’s Covid situation is the relatively low death rate. As of September 20, the death toll stood at 4,984. And yet, the danger is so real to the vulnerable populations that businesses have had to tiptoe around imposing strict protocols—sometimes revised at a dizzying pace—as they try to reboot.
Blaming the government and concerned state institutions has become the favorite pastime of many Filipinos on social media. People tend to look outward and put blame on others, instead of focusing on what they can do on their own to help curb the spread of the disease. Despite the consistent public calls of local and international government and health agencies, some people still choose to ignore protocols in practicing the minimum health standards. It has not helped that the safeguard deniers have clothed their defiance of protocols with the apparent double standard—certain powerful people were not sanctioned for their own breaches of quarantine rules.
Beyond enforcement, we also must consider the violations as a reflection of the nation’s health-seeking behavior and attitude; nay, a combination of several factors, not least of which is the overwhelming need of those impacted by lockdowns to go out and do something, anything, to earn something to feed families forced into begging the past months.
Meanwhile, it is good to note that some groups have already risen above the blame game and elevated the Covid-19 discussions to what every individual can contribute while the world scrambles for medicines to cure the infected and vaccines to end this pandemic.
Just recently, the Acting President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, said that a more holistic approach to the responses to the pandemic should consider proactive promotion of a positive mindset that gives flesh to the values of love, compassion, prudence and patience. This, most especially at a time when many people are experiencing uncertainty with the unprecedented loss of lives, jobs and economic slowdown. While some would probably question the relevance of the church in the pandemic issue, recall that even Justice Secretary Menardo Jimenez acknowledged the capability of the faith-based sector in helping Filipinos undergoing mental health and psychosocial problems. “Pananagutan sa bawat isa [Looking out for each one],” David had said, will give rise to the consciousness of accountability; that our actions, or inaction, will affect other people. Every Filipino can help by channeling the spirit of bayanihan (concerted effort and heroism) and our demonstration of malasakit (concern) to each human being. In fact, these core values were actually communicated in a public service ad by Filipino company Unilab with the tag line, “Malasakit ang kailangan upang Covid-19 ay mapigilan.” The simple but powerful campaign constantly reminds the people around us—from family members to strangers—to always practice the minimum health protocols, and to gently nudge anyone who fails to comply. With a smile that conveys an earnest desire to protect the other—and not to impose—one can simply signal even a stranger in a public place to put on a mask or face shield, or at least wear this properly, and to practice physical distancing. In a word, the message is simple: “I protect you, you protect me.”
We sink or swim in this country so we have no other choice but to move as one. And we cannot simply pin all our hopes on the discovery of a vaccine that is supposed to provide immunity. This is the best time to let the Filipino spirit take us through this pandemic. As one Facebook post said, “Pandemic ka lang, Pilipino kami.”