Rampa

By Netnet Camomot .

“WE live in a troubled time.”

With that as the first line of defense, how could Pinas fail?

Actually, that was the first line of President Rody Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Monday. It was a rainy afternoon in Cagayan de Oro, complete with the SOP—standard operating procedure—flooded highway at Kauswagan, the most appropriate weather for the Cagayanon who remembered to watch the Sona.

At least the Sona this year had no red-carpet fashion show for wannabe fashion models a.k.a. politicians and their spouses who love to “rampa.” Deep sigh of relief from those who had to endure watching such Sona fashion shows in the past.

But despite the rain, the Cagayanon was awakened from reverie when Duterte warned the telecommunications companies to improve their services by December 2020 otherwise the government would work on that in the next two years without the current duet of telcos. Brrrrr.

And the Cagayanon woke up again upon hearing Duterte say that the Continuing Professional Development Act should be amended. Yay! Uh, hello, former Sen. Sonny Trillanes.

The morning after, on Tuesday, Facebook was full of posts about another earthquake. This was the second one and I slept through it, unlike the first one the night before when at least I woke up while my bed was shaking which I thought was a dream. Well, with no significant other with me, my one and only suspicion was it was a dream. Haha! I went back to sleep and woke up on Monday morning to a Facebook News Feed filled with earthquake posts.

Earthquakes on top of a pandemic. Talk of rubbing it in.

By Tuesday morning, I have had enough of the pandemic and the earthquakes and the Sona, and for that, a breakfast of Spam, scrambled eggs, rice, and coffee would be the perfect fit. But with “need” songs as Muzak?

“When I need you

I just close my eyes and I’m with you”

“Left me just when I needed you most”

Whew. There’s this radio station that the Jurassic transistor radio downstairs is tuned in forevermore. Move the dial and it could conk out. So, that’s the station we listen to daily and for Tuesday morning while having breakfast, the “need” songs were on, making us wonder what the lady deejay was going through that time with her hugot-pa-more playlist.

Well, I’d rather listen to Coldplay’s “We live in a beautiful world” which could have been the Sona’s first line if only there’s no pandemic that forced even Duterte to wear a face mask.

One hundred years from now when future generations will see photos of that Sona, they’ll ask what those face masks, face shields, and bottles of rubbing alcohol were for, and why were they seated so far from each other—they were not in good terms?

The flu pandemic happened in 1918, more than 100 years ago and face masks were also their defense then against the virus. Scientists and inventors have had a hundred years to think of better preventive measures against viruses but here we are wearing face masks while waiting for a vaccine. “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” as the saying goes.

Remove that face mask before having a selfie and those photos would now look like the world is back to the old normal. If ever Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno will move the start of the curfew from 9 pm to 12 midnight and allow bars to reopen, CDO will definitely be back to the old normal.

Other places that have reopened are now closing again to avoid worsening their second wave of Covid-19 cases.

CDO’s local transmission has been contained by locking down barangays, zones, and sitios that have Covid-19 cases. Perhaps that has assured the Cagayanon that it’s safe to be out there, provided he’s practising the minimum public health standards. But his Facebook photos prove otherwise—no physical distancing, seated or standing right next to the other, face mask covering his neck and chin and not his mouth and nose. Are these okay as long as the exposure is less than 15 minutes?

As doctors and scientists discover what Covid-19 is and how it behaves, people will learn—and are already learning—to live with it. Some American doctors in the US are even not wearing face masks and are against lockdowns as they urge Americans not to react to Covid-19 with fear, and that it’s okay for children to have face-to-face classes. Hmmm. But then, this is the novel coronavirus, it’s a new disease, so how much do they know?

The Cagayanon who listens to all sorts of Covid-19 info could be confused by now. Should he stay home or not. Can he attend a wedding reception with 600 guests or not? Is travel for leisure allowed or not?

Operative word: comorbidities. No matter what your age is, if you have comorbidities, staying home is still your best defense against Covid-19.