"I wonder how much longer the poor can take this."
"I wonder how much longer the poor can take this."
More people are getting infected with coronavirus. This is why the lockdown will definitely be extended.
I really don’t know what kind of modifications the Inter-Agency Task Force will adopt. It may mean the easing of some restrictions on movement, or perhaps in the purchase of essential goods.
I have been asked many times by relatives: How long will the enhanced community quarantine really last? I am not a health expert, but I am sure that until a cure is discovered, we will remain in this guarded situation.
All we can do now is hope and pray that this pandemic does not last until Christmas. The world will never be the same again.
Just how our country can ever recover is everybody’s concern. Many have lost their jobs and livelihood. What will happen to those living below the poverty line, who were having trouble living decently even before COVID-19?
Still, there are pockets of good news. The number of recoveries is now exceeding the number of deaths. The fact that the Philippines is no longer number one in terms of the number of cases in Southeast Asia gives us a glimmer of hope.
Government assures us that there is enough rice supply. I wonder though how long donations can last in sustaining the needs of the people, especially the poor, if the lockdown is extended.
The bad news is that many are still violating the lockdowns. Do we Filipinos really lack discipline? Are we unable to make sacrifices for the common good? Because of all these, there is talk that government is imposing a martial law-type lockdown.
I do hope that the modifications that the government is considering do not pertain to greater restrictions in movement, at a time when the country is reeling from so many things.
For my wife and me, World War II was easier compared to this. At least, then, you knew who your enemy was.
* * *
Over the weekend, my attention was caught by reports that the Quezon City jail had nine inmates who had tested positive for COVID-19. My reaction was, nine only?
That’s an improbable number when you see photos of inmates sitting side by side, unable to observe social distancing. It is likely the number is understated, given how congested the jail facility is.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra should order all city and municipal jails to report what’s been happening so the spread of the virus can be prevented, or contained.
I can also imagine what is happening at the New Bilibid Prison and the Correctional Institute for Women. The inmates are not all convicts. Many of them are mere detainees awaiting trial in court. My gulay, my heart bleeds!
Even before the pandemic, I have been urging both President Rodrigo Duterte and Secretary Guevarra to address the congestion in jails. Inmates are human too and they deserve to live decently.
* * *
Politics has become irrelevant in the wake of this pandemic. The best example of this is Vice President Leni Robredo who can no longer criticize what the Duterte administration is doing, because it is now beyond her sphere.
This also involves the senators who asked for the resignation of Secretary of Health Francisco Duque. To what end? We are in the midst of a pandemic!
Small relief that we no longer hear about grandstanding politicians on a daily basis.
* * *
My daughter, who has taken us into her home in Merville, Parañaque, got the surprise of her life when we received 10 kilos of rice and other goods from the office of Mayor Edwin Olivarez. I heard all families in the village got theirs, as well.
We never received anything from our barangay. But thank you, Mayor. The goods were a big help.
