In isolation
Sarena - a Tagalog term for invisible rain/water particles that drizzle at night
It's been a tough week for all of us. “Community quarantine” had been declared and Metro Manila, and now the whole island of Luzon, has been on lockdown since March 15, 2020. The confirmed COVID-19 cases have gone from 9 confirmed cases to more than a hundred, and many are still unconfirmed due to the government’s inaction to have mass testing on the population. School and work have been suspended, with the latter unclear due to some private companies and government agencies still adamant to have a workforce; skeletal or otherwise. Local flights have also been grounded until further notice. Mass transportation had also been suspended in favor of social distancing and, as a supplement, the government had provided cramped military trucks as a solution. Stores are closed, streets are desolated and militarized, and the government just doesn’t have a concrete solution.
In other words: Fuck. We’re doomed.
The grimness of the pandemic has not even reached its peak. The number of cases is growing and the death toll is rising. Yes, it is a recoverable virus, but we are greatly unprepared. Experts have predicted that social distancing would be in effect for about a year. While this might not be a problem for some, especially those who can stay at home and binge-watch on Netflix, it is indeed a problem for the Filipino masses. The lockdown now pushes for an economic standstill. This would mean that those who are reliant on a day-to-day wage, such as contractual workers, jeepney drivers, vendors, and the like, this standstill would inevitably push to them to hunger.
The local LGUs have also shown their darkest moments. We’ve seen how mayors and barangay officials scramble still for the political agendas and abuse in power. We’ve seen the reports of those caught after curfew be locked up inhumanely. We’ve seen how relief packs are given only during photo-ops and with printed names. Petty political disputes are also drawn while people are starving. Armed military checkpoints have also scattered across the region and have ensured order through fear.
This is a form of martial law.
These troubled times are ensured by the fear and worry that comes not primarily of the pandemic, but also from the government’s incompetence and clear agenda of power play and militarized rule.
But in these moments do we still stand. I am not talking about Filipino resiliency, no. That phenomenon would only be reserved as another romanticized lens of the bourgeoisie who are consuming poverty porn to feel good or distance themselves. We see how competency in our government is possible. That had been a breath of fresh air in a country so knee-deep in corruption.
We’ve also how the undaunted academics, medical practitioners, supply chain workers, drivers, food servers, artists and all of those who have been belittled due to the low economic pay-off have proven once again that they are the backbone of this society. They are risking their wellbeing for the good of everyone. Sorry bankers (and also fuck you for telling us that you value our safety and that we can opt to pay online, like wtf).
There have been many problems now. Even this isolation can not be good for one’s mental health. But as we see these problems as a typhoon decimating everything in its path, remember that the good factors are those invisible droplets of rain at night which you can only see when it passes through light. I am not trying to justify the onslaught, but rather take this as a reflection on how we try to change the system. We have always seen things clearly, but now the right thing beckons to be the norm. We owe every frontline worker this.
Please take care of yourselves as we weather through this. Spend some time with a family member or chat with a friend. Wash your hands and curve misinformation. Let’s be here for one another till the storm passes. And when it does finally pass, Viva La Revolution!