‘…while many of us share the longing for a bit more of fresh air and seeing our loved ones and friends, we must all still remain on guard to help keep infections down among our own families.’
THE Duterte administration announced the lowering of the alert level prevailing in the National Capital Region to alert level 2, which means that businesses can now accommodate more customers, and more types of businesses are now allowed to operate.
With the loosening of restrictions, senior citizens and children can now go with their families to malls and other establishments. According to DOH data, the number of active cases is now much lower, along with the all-important metric of the positivity rate. NCR also has the highest number of individuals vaccinated.
The announcement was met with mixed reactions. Some are happy that children and seniors can now move about, and I can understand how being cooped up in the house must feel for many of our children and elders. Churches are likewise open and now able to accommodate more church-goers eager to hear mass or worship in person.
Some have expressed alarm at how the crowds swelled over the weekend, fearful that we might be caught in another ebb and flow of the pandemic cycle. To be sure, many understand that the economy must reopen in order to generate and save jobs for our fellow Filipinos; however, it is incumbent upon our officials to make sure that guidelines are in place to regulate the safe opening of businesses. To be fair to the private sector, most business owners have taken on the burden of ensuring that health and safety protocols continue to be followed despite the easing of restrictions.
As always, everyone wanting to go outside for leisure should make their own calculations to lessen the risk of infection: while many of us share the longing for a bit more of fresh air and seeing our loved ones and friends, we must all still remain on guard to help keep infections down among our own families. This will be especially hard this coming Christmas season, where the temptation to throw caution to the wind will be stronger. COVID fatigue is real, and we can all understand the need to be with loved ones and friends after being in the world’s longest lockdown.
The bigger concern, which goes largely under the radar, is all these campaign activities that are already happening on the ground, in every province in the Philippines. I see photos of caucuses, gatherings, and rallies, of public gymnasiums packed to the brim as if we were not living in a pandemic. Sure, there are rules in place to regulate these gatherings, that’s true. But do you see anyone stopping these politicians? If unchecked, these gatherings will likely be super spreader events. And once again, it will be the communities of ordinary people who will bear the brunt of this careless campaigning by the very people who are supposed to be looking after our welfare.
As voters, we should add this to our list of things to consider when voting for a particular candidate, whether national or local. We can expect more sweet promises from these politicians and all sorts of assistance as election day nears, but we must not forget: beyond these words and promises, do their actions show that they really are after your well-being?
Or is their disregard quite apparent, trusting that their gift of rice and promised assistance will be enough for you to shade that circle next to their names in the ballot come May? We have a lot of thinking to do, my dear millennials and fillennials. May we all discern well.
