ISANG TAON NG COVID SA PINAS

Isa ang Pilipinas sa pinakamahabang nag-lockdown sa buong mundo dahil sa COVID, at isang taon mula nang magkaroon ng pandemniya, nasaan na tayo ngayon?

Isang taon na nang sinabi ko na dapat ay maging kalmado at unawain natin ang ating pamahalaan kaysa sa magkaroon ng pamumuna at galit.

Isang taon ng mahigit ngayon nang ipahayag ko ang paniniwala kong kailangang sumunod na lamang muna sa mga awtoridad ang mga tao at isang-tabi muna ang pagkakaiba at pagpuna bagkus ay makiisa at kung ano man ang mga dapat ayusin ay pag-usapan na lamang pagkatapos ng lahat – alang-alang sa pagsugpo sa pandemniya.

Nuong mga panahon na iyon ay gusto kong pagbigyan ang mga taong nasa kapangyarihan na gawin nila ang dpat nilang gawin dahil naniwala akong sa mga oras na iyon ay nasa kanilang mga kamay ang kaligtasan ng mga tao.

Mas gusto kong pairalin ang pang-unawa kaysa magreklamo dahil alam kong mahirap ang kinakaharap na hindi inaasahang krisis, kaya pinilit kong inunawa ang mga kakulangan kaysa dumagdag sa alalahanin. 

Mas gusto kong piliting maniwala na ginagawa lahat ng mga taong kinauukulan ang kanilang trabaho na protektahan ang maraming mamamayan kahit nakikita kong dapat sana ay gawin ang isang bagay pero ayaw gawin at ang ginagawa ay iyung mga bagay na sa tingin ko ay hindi muna dapat gawin.

Pinagbigyan, inunawa, hinayaan ko sila.

Pero iyung madalas ay nakikita, naririnig, nababasa o nababalitaan mo ang mga “kapalpakan”, duon ka na magsisimulang bawiin ang mga nauna mong sinabi.

Oo, pinagbibigyan mo at pilit mong inuunawa pero kapag ang dami ng nangyayaring hindi maganda ay wala kang magagawa kundi pumalag – alang-alang sa katuwiran, katotohanan, at sa mga totoong nagtratrabaho at nahihirapan na mga frontliners.

Ano ba talaga ang ginagawa ng mga taong inaasahan nating protesksiyonan tayo?  Ang dami na kasing dapat hindi ginawa at nangyari.

“Sasampalin ko ‘yang gago na COVID na yan”, gaas daw ang nakakapigil sa veerus – “hindi uubra ang putang-inang COVID na yan”, unang magpapabakuna sa harap ng maraming tao, sa puwit magpapabakuna kaya hindi pwede sa maraming tao, hindi magpapabakuna dahil sa edad, mamatay ka na – ano mga ito?

Hindi daw dapat magtravel ban sa China dahil kaawaawa naman daw, huwag i-single out ang China, nagpamigay ng facemasks sa China habang ang sariling mamamayan na mahihirap na walang ipambili ng facemask ay nganga, nagkaroon ng anomalya sa PhilHealth sa overprie na IT equipment, anomalya sa pamamahagi ng SAP, pinolitika ang sunod-sunod na mabilis na kilos nina Mayor Vico at VP Leni, at nang humingi ng dagdag na tulong ang mga doctor at nurse dahil nahihirapan na ay hinamon kung gustong magrebolusyon.

Sa halip na mga bihasang doctor ay mga sundalo at pulis ang inilagay sa trabaho.  Ang pang-gabing programa na bagay sa mga horror movies ay ginawang linguhang pag-uulat pero sa halip na tungkol sa paglutas sa COVID ay naging lugar para atakihin ang mga hindi sumasang-ayon sa pamamahala sa krisis.

May mga kalituhan sa mga patakaran na nagkakaiba-iba base sa lokalidad at ibat-ibang letra na ang ginamit para ilarawan ang uri ng quarantine: CQ, ECQ, MECQ, GQ, MGCQ, may hard at soft lockdown hanggang maging circuit breaker community quarantine na miring ipinapatupad sa mga pobreng mamamayan tulad ng ginang na naglalaba sa harap ng bahay at sinabi sa mga pulis na barilin ang mga lalabag pero ang mga heneral ay maaaring mag-manianita, ang senador ay maaaring magpunta sa ospital para ihatid ang asawang manganganak at ang tagapagsalita ay malayang nakakapagbasyon sa Boracay, Baguio, Bohol.

Ibinigay na lahat ng kapangyarihan sa pamamagitan ng Bayanihan To Heal as One Act, ibinigay ang lahat ng emergency power, mga karagdagang kapangyarihan, kabi-kabila ang mga utang sa World Bank, Asian Development Bank, AIIB para sa bakuna: US$100M nuong April 2020, US$500M May 2020, US$600M December 2020, US$500M at US$300M March 2021, bukod pa sa P10B mula sa DOH Bayanihan budget – pero nasaan na ang bakuna at puro donasyon ang natatanggap?

Ginawang essentials ang POGO workers upang makabalik-trabaho na samantalang ang ibang trabaho ng mga Pilipino na kailangagn kumita dahil hindi nabigyan ng ayuda ay hindi pinabubuksan.

Ang programang balik-probinsiya ng isang senador ay ipinilit sa panahon ng pandemniya upang pabanguhin ang pangalan ng senador ngunit isa ito sa naging sanhi ng pagkalat ng virus mula sa Maynila papunta sa mga probinsiya.

Wala na raw pera pero ipinagpilitang buhusan ng pondo ang Dolomite Beach na katakot-takot ang violation sa social distancing, facemask, paglabas ng mga senior citizens at mass gathering.

Nabisto ang mga patagong bakuna ng mga sundalo at pulis, mga smuggled na vaccine kinatrwiranang legal daw basta emergency, hindi pinirmahan ang dokumento para masigurado ang 10M doses ng Pfizer vaccines, ipinilit ang bakunang galing sa China, huwag daw choosy pero ang ilang opisyales ng gobyerno ay ayaw sa Sinovac at mas gusto sa Pfizer o AstraZeneca,

Paano kang tatahimik sa mga nangyaring ito?  Paano mo hahayaang magbulag-bulagan sa mga ganitong pangyayari?  At paano mo tatanggapin ang mga kapalpakan na ito?  Maliban na lamang kung talagang panatiko ka na nga.

Isang taon na ngunit ganito pa rin tayo.  Isang taon na at balik ulit tayo sa simula kasi ang mga tao ay nagsawa na dahil sa nakikita nilang malabnaw na ginagawa ng mga taong nakatataas sa kanila na dapat ay nangangalaga sa kanila.

Nasanay na rin ang mga tao na sila lagi ang sinisisi dahil sa kanilang hindi maiiwasang paglabas ng bahay.

Napipilitaan sila sa hindi maiwasang pagsisisiksikan sa isang lugar dahil ang lahat ng nasa paligid nila ay sanhi ng hindi nila kagustuhan tulad ng kakulangan ng masasakyan, masikip na lugar, 

Napanatag na rin ang mga tao na parang nasanay na rin at nawalan ng konting takot dahil parang hindi naman kasi sinisiryoso ng mga nakakataas ang mga nangyayaring kapabayaan at kontrobersiya.

Isa ang Pilipinas sa may pinakamahabang lockdown sa buong mundo dahil sa mga taumbayan na napipilitang huwag sumunod sa gobyerno, at dahil din sa mga itinalagang tao na hindi ginagawa nang mabuti ang kanilang trabaho.  Dahil kung ginagawa lang nila ang kanilang trabaho, hindi magpupumilit ang maraming tao na gawin nila ang kanilang kailangang gawin, at hindi aabot na magkaroon ng P.3 variant dahil sa napakahabang lockdown.

QUESTION & ANSWER PART-1

1.

From a netizen

Q: How can you make success?

A: Making your success really depends on how you look success. Learn your happiness and contentment, and you can figure out your success. Simplicity is the key, learn it. If simplicity means less is more, then see the lesson of getting more from less, that is positivity. You will look positive in all the things that surround you. It doesn’t mean stop aiming higher to motivate more. Just be simple to avoid complicated situation. Challenges serve fuel to others, but all of us have challenges in life and it is how we handle them.

 

2.

During a job interview

Q: What is success?

A: Success lies on happiness and contentment. It doesn’t really mean you need to have wealth, awards, or title to call you successful. As long as you are happy and contented, no matter how trivial it is, then you are successful.

 

3.

In Random

Q: Who inspire you?

A: Anyone and anything around me inspire me, in their different ways.  I have several on my mind like the unpublished but open-secret charitable deeds of some personalities.  They inspire me to help in as much as I can.  Apart from this, I have watched different stories of life success that started from scratch and they all amazed me and I want to inspire from their stories though it is hitting the moon.

 

But if I need to name one, I like the late environmentalist and philanthropist Gina Lopez’s courage.  Her deepest love to our Nature is unparalleled.  She is selfless who doesn’t choose wealth, money, and business over the welfare of our environment.

 

My mother told me to be sincere while my father taught me to be simple and these are my inspirations in keeping my life simple.  While a close friend gives me the chance and inspires me to continue to see life, aim to live the life, experience happiness and dreams… for everyday this makes me to live even more.

 

4.

Q: What do you think is the best history?

A: To be fair, I’ll just go on the history that happened during my times, and this is in my country.  The best history is the 1986 People’s Power Revolution because this is a big story that gave us great benefit we receive until these days.  Critics will always criticize and politics will always politicize it but no one can deny that this history fought for us.

 

5.

The following are questions asked to some personalities that I will answer on my own way.

From “Sagot-o-Lagot Challenge” Vlogs.

Q: What is the thing that you cannot forgive?

A: I think I have nothing that I cannot forgive. Those bad (or maybe grave) things, I will feel sorry and think of it for days, or weeks, or maybe years, but eventually I can forgive whatever it is. Maybe I cannot forget but believe me forgiveness is there. At the end of the day, all I want is to have my life free. I don’t like excess baggage that will make my life difficult, dark, heavy and slow. I don’t like grudge and worries that will make my world small and complicated. 

 

6.

Q: Do you consider on-line flirting as form of cheating?

A: Yes, because when you do flirt with other, there is kind of feeling that you want to get that you should get only from your real partner.  There is two-way interaction of getting something, and you have the choice and willingness to do that.  It's not that there is no string attachment or physical touch but there is secrecy therefore it is cheating.  You will not hide it if is not wrong.

 

7.

From a Q&A contest:

Q: If there is one fictional or real person whom you want to be, who would that be and why?

A: I want to be Superman because he is the best – the epitome of greatness.  The speed, strength, and wisdom over land, sea, and water that all other superheroes posses are rolled into him.  If there is one power that I would like to add more, it is the power to be invisible.

 

8.

Q: What is your biggest mistake and what did you do to correct it?

A: When I did not pursue my desire to become journalist because I think I can be an effective writer if given the chance to have the full study of it.  It could polish whatever skill I already have during my developing years, and hone more my interest, and this could be a life-changing.

 

But I did not stop writing and I even upgraded my skill and used it.  And I feel I became a better and confident person, and it helped me to become productive in my work today.

 

You don’t need to box yourself.  You can go out from your shell.  In the same way, sometimes you need to leave your comfort zone and try something new.

 

9.

Watched from a talk show

Q: If you were given the chance to live again, what would you choose – to be a man or a woman?

A: I will choose to be a man again because I don’t think I have done enough of the things I did and experienced.  There are much more missing and I feel like I have a lot more to learn and experience.  I don’t think I have enough so why wouldn’t I want to leave the thing that I haven’t maximized? It is like there is unfinished business so I would rather like to live as a man again.

 

10.

Q: Would you rather be kind or be right?

A: I would rather be kind because when you are kind, you are inspiring others and you are living with peace of mind that makes you feel good about yourself. It is always good to spread kindness. You may say being kind even the circumstances are wrong will tolerate the circumstances. But that is the moral lesson we want to send: reciprocate with kindness those who have done wrong to you. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, on the contrary repay evil with blessings.

Some said if you are right you will never be wrong, but being right doesn’t mean the truth. Yes it is right but it doesn’t mean you know the truth. You know the outcome is wrong but you may not know the truth why it came to that point and what really transpired from the beginning or even before the beginning. Our being too much perfectionist is not good on the first place. 

 

11.

Q: When is the right time to speak and when is the right time to listen?

A: It depends on cases.  One case is when your heart is pure – that is the time you can speak because it is when your heart is pure that your words are music to the ear. Words are sharper than sword, we must be careful to what we say. When you have something to share without harming other people, when you can make something to better, when you need to be heard – not to brag yourself, these are the times to speak. When someone who speaks wisdom that you can learn, that your mind and heart will not corrupt, these are the times to listen.