Follow the leader

By Netnet Camomot

IF you’re a Pinoy who has chosen to remain here in Pinas, aren’t you regretting yet your choice not to immigrate to a first-world country?

The pandemic has revealed what the Pinoy government is made of. And it’s definitely not “Sugar and spice / And everything nice” as it prepares for Election 2022. Besides, that nursery rhyme is for “That’s what little girls are made of” and not for any government, so…

Since the game here is “follow the leader,” if the government has continued to collect taxes like as if the old normal has never left Pinas, then all other collections from the non-government side have also continued. A third world, er, the developing country finds a balance between health and economy by focusing on the economy. Wait, what?

Hmmm. I could almost hear that leader say, Ing ini ni.

Ing ini ni: the economy has to reopen to provide funds for health. When that’s “achieve na achieve,” then there’s balance, right?

Right? Oist, tubag pud ‘pag may time. Ayaw pag-“seen” lang.

Can’t help but compare Pinas’s Covid-19 response to that of first-world countries because there’s definitely a humongous difference. Especially for the Pinoy’s colonial mentality that believes the made-in-China vaccines are not as effective as those made in the US, UK, etc.

There’s this Pinoy tourist who went shopping in the US, and it was only when he was back here in Pinas that he realized some of the items he bought had “Made in the Philippines” on their tags and labels. So, he spent thousands of pesos for his plane ticket to buy Philippine products in the US. I don’t know what’s the “connect” between this and the Covid-19 vaccines but I gotta feeling that there is.

I’ve been sharing Covid updates and official data, hoping the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth would convince people to stay home, work from home, and go out only for work and essentials. That data is only the tip of the iceberg since there’s no mass testing here. That should be enough to keep people home.

But Cagayan de Oro’s Covid-19 surge continues as of this writing despite the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) that began on June 1. It has been more than two weeks already. Perhaps there are obstacles in getting the message across because it’s only “seen,” with no reply.

The Covid-19 response should be about branding, too: Stay home instead of stay safe. Work from home instead of going out for work. Order online instead of going out for essentials. With an emphasis on home and family.

Of course, there are people who have to go out for work and essentials, but for those who can work from home forevermore, that should be the choice so there’s more space for physical distancing in malls, offices, stores, and other business establishments.

Even hearing Mass can be online, too.

At SM CDO Downtown Premier’s vaccination site on June 14 when I was there, some vaccinees bumped into others in their rush to the front of the line, as if there’s an Olympic gold medal for the one who would be vaccinated first. The minimum one-meter physical distancing was forgotten.

It has been one year and three months since the quarantine began. Please help me fathom what part of the minimum public health standards the Pinoy refuses to understand.

By the way, minimum means the least.

If the government asks, Anong ambag mo?, well, I’ve been staying home and working from home. But apparently, that’s not enough. I still have to pay taxes as the government continues to collect them following its old-normal rates and deadlines. Tinabangay daw.

In first-world countries, it’s the country that helps its citizens face pandemic challenges. In the third world, er, developing countries, it’s the other way around? Tsk tsk.