COVID ANNIVERSARY

STORY BY CYBREALLE D.C. CRUZ

It has been a year filled with dread and suffering because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic which put a toll in the lives of millions. A tremendous threat in the human race that put a halt on everything. Suddenly, the world is not the same anymore. Suddenly, we are caged in the walls of our homes and we are forced to adapt in a new way of living.

On December 31, 2019, there were multiple reports of pneumonia cases in the Hubei province of Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization (WHO) was alerted to these “mysterious” cases for their growing number and unidentified cause. In January 2020, there were several preventions made by WHO. China eventually shared details on the genetic sequence of the said respiratory virus and it was compared to SARS and MERS. WHO issued guidelines and preventive measures for healthcare workers in handling patients. Soon after, the first case outside China was reported in Thailand on January 13. This was then followed by cases in Japan and South Korea. There were other measures taken as WHO experts visited Wuhan, China to observe the conditions. It was not later when this virus was declared a pandemic because of the increasing rate of cases.

In the Philippines, a local transmission has been observed around February and was confirmed later in March, following the first case which was spotted on January 30. The first case was said to be a woman who traveled from Wuhan. Days after, on March 15, President Rodrigo Duterte declared a lockdown to contain the virus. Being quarantined for months has deliberately worried Filipinos because of the dying businesses which support their daily expenses. It even came to a point that people are more scared to die because of empty stomachs rather than the virus itself. Some are also dwelling on their personal issues because of isolation. Various mental health movements have been done to battle this. Meanwhile, frontliners have been working tirelessly in order to cater patients as COVID cases started to worsen when quarantine eased. The main reason behind it is to sustain the economy. Although only limited people are allowed outdoors, there has been an enormous increase, hitting 6,958 cases around August which is considered the biggest rise of cases in the country. After this, there was still evident growth in numbers but it went back from a thousand cases on a daily count.

The world is still not off of pandemic. Since its beginning, no one has expected that it would robbed too much time from living the way we all used to. Because of the stretch of this crisis, we needed to improvise and established a way to adapt in this situation instead of eradicating the main problem. The “new normal” provided an alternative in means of living. Today, online platforms have played a huge role in keeping people connected and functioning. We shop online, we work online and even attend classes online. The world has become too dependent on technology even before the pandemic and now it has gone to such extremes. As a result, people have been sharing their dilemmas as we shift everything online. Everyone is a victim of this pandemic. Although we might not be directly infected with the virus itself, people are still experiencing other rising effects that are rooted to the main conundrum. Students and teachers suffer from insufficient resources and other learning materials as they try to bridge the gaps of online or modular from them, learning. Aside many people WHO IS WHO?? have also lost their jobs especially those low-income families within the who solely STORY BY HEMELYN JILIAN RENEE S. AGAYAM depend on their small businesses. Even professional workers face problems in separating their work from their personal space due to the work-from-home setup. As seen in these, everyone has been facing their own battles amidst the greater chaos. Aside from the tremendous threat of this pandemic, people are also susceptible to other subsequent quandaries. As lockdowns are lifted, people are slowly going outdoors and moving places, trying to “compensate” for their lost times during q uarantine. Malls, restaurants and tourism places are back into business which makes people eager to live the life we all used to have. It has been a year but nothing much has changed since the beginning of all this except for the fact that we wear this thin, piece of cloth, which almost covers our whole face as well as the warmth of hugs that cannot be felt anymore. The pandemic has surely made people more distant but definitely, it has also taught us how we should value everything that we have, to value life even more. Living can sometimes be overlooked, but it is a privilege especially in this time when millions of people have lost the opportunity to do so. The realities that we took for granted are now beyond our grasp. We could only hope that tomorrow would be better and a little less cruel to us today. There is no certainty as to when this havoc will end, but if time comes, and we were given the chance to experience life the same way, I hope that we will never forget the helplessness and grief we felt during this time and make use of this reason to appreciate life even You may have heard from the news that the WHO along with some partner companies are now working on a release for a vaccine on COVID-19, or you may have read an article on what to do to avoid the spread of the virus. Now who exactly is WHO? What are they doing now? Are they really relevant during this pandemic? Currently headed by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO was established in 1984, which stands for “World Health Organization”, its original purpose was to help with malaria, tuberculosis, and other communicable disease. It coordinates with different countries and NGO’s, and the UN, that has currently 194 member states. The WHO has no right whatsoever to interfere in a country’s response to viruses. The function of WHO is to coordinate and direct authority on international health work, ensure valid technical cooperation, and promote research. WHO along with COVAX, they are currently monitoring people who have received the vaccine, like the first person who received the Pfizer vaccine, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan (folks, remember her name, she will soon be appearing in tests). The WHO is also in charge in keeping in track with the number of cases of COVID-19 around the world. Currently there is a total of 68,845,368 cases around the world with Philippines having over 446,000 cases. Is the WHO really relevant this pandemic? Well yes, they are, as they keep track of COVID-19 cases, and tell people on what to do during the pandemic, and even providing a series as to what is COVID-19. Currently it has a total of 16 episodes, explaining how the transmission of virus works, how vaccines , and more COVID-19 related content (it is accessible through this link: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/ novel-coronavirus-2019/media-resources/science-in5). The WHO works to communicate with every country to help lessen the spread of disease and continue the search for the cure. With the virus still around, please continue to take precautions when going out, continue on wearing masks and hopefully, we get to go back to our daily lives soon and see each other again! more.

STORY BY JOHN FABIAN

MANILA BAY, on approximately 500 meters of dolomite, Philippines — What is beauty, if your bay is dirty?

Luzon, after being hit by two major typhoons, super typhoons Rolly and Ulysses, have at least affected 24 million people in over nine regions. These typhoons have brought powerful winds and torrential rain that killed a combined total of 98 persons and around 400 people are still missing. The combination of the two has been concluded as the deadliest storm that has hit the Southeast Asian region. But nonetheless, the duo has brought out once again the resiliency of the Filipino people (sad cliché). However, it has also opened some eyes on the government’s slack. Now, the Filipino people demand accountability from the administration’s overall fiasco in protocol, failure in communication, and negligible effort in handling both the pandemic and the calamity.

Put politics aside, the main topic of this article is the dolomite’s situation after being hit by two super typhoons. Let us be updated with the administration’s priority spending of P389 million to give Manila Bay’s polluted shoreline a million-peso facelift.

The small 500 meters stretch of black sand is now shallowly covered with dolomite hailed from Cebu province. The far stretch filled with stench which gives the famous ‘Manila Sunset’ an identity of itself, unexpectedly got a facelift of artificial white sand. The spontaneity of this facelift garnered criticisms pertaining on how the government prioritizes its funds amidst the pandemic. Furthermore, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), as the proponent of this initiative, was once again condemned by their ignorance of the dolomite’s hazardous characteristics on the natural biota. Experts and researchers in the field of environment from the University of the Philippines (UP warned the DENR of the hazards of inhalation of fine particles of dolomite may later lead to respiratory problems such as chronic chest pains and shortness of breath, as well as other respiratory hazards. The biodiversity in the bay has been affected ever since the dolomite initiative. Erratic movements in fish, and a lesser number of migratory birds have also been noted. Also, experts were quick to point out the possibility that the dolomite sand would wear away easily by the tides and be carried out to sea, essentially being washed away. In the same direction, scientists nationwide have come to dispute the government’s plan; that this is nothing more than a facelift, than it is a rehabilitation. What they proposed instead was rehabilitation and preservation through the planting of mangroves. What the authorities are expected to do however, is to focus on protecting and conserving biodiversity, with local and ecofriendly solutions.

The DENR clarified from time and time again that the white sand project is more than just for appearance. DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda, who stands as the project’s spokesperson has said that the P389 million spending aims to bring back the bay’s immaculate beauty after decades of pollution. The development focused on how to make the bay beautiful, and did not even consider how to save the bay’s ecology and the wildlife. The administration has also been very vocal of the positive effects that dolomite brings. In one interview, Spokesperson Harry Roque praised the project and went out as far as to state that the dolomite helps the Filipino People by miraculously improving people’s mental health. Yet again, the administration has ignored the facts from the scientists and chose to pray on their own pseudo-science.

Moreover, the Malacañang turned a blind eye on the country’s COVID-19 situation and focused on the white sand initiative as the “right decision” to allocate our funds to. The Malacañang is compelled to believe this as the right decision as people are seen flocking in the bay, notwithstanding of pandemic distancing protocols, when it was opened for the public’s sneak peek. Tweets regarding dolomite trended, and Facebook was flooded with both dolomite lovers and haters alike. The government then picked this signal as the masses’ approval of the dolomite initiative.

After the storm, Manila bay has trended again on social media. From the photos shared, it was obvious that the white sand eroded and the government’s efforts to beautify the beach has failed. The University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute has taken the initiative with a grain of salt by stating that “the aesthetic initiative is, at most a beautification effort that is costly and temporary.” And apparently, totally unnecessary. Regardless of the controversies, the DENR stood by the President and said that the program will continue amid the flak, concerns such as a possibility that maybe, just maybe, a strong tropical depression will easily blow artificial white sand away. And when Ulysses and Rolly made CREDITS HEREtheir landfall in early November, clear signs of erosion were spotted. The then white sand bay, was now bare, black, and pathetic. When the “wash out” issue reached the palace, Antiporda quickly refuted the claims, stating that these claims were propaganda of the opposition – that there was no wash out, but a wash in. Antiporda further explained that the dolomite held its ground but the strong waves caused the black sand to topple the shore thus resulting in the bay’s current pitiful appearance.

Once more, another pseudoscience and a questionable logic coming from a person of high position.

Undeniably, the government has failed to achieve its goal of the bay’s rehabilitation. The issues of pollution were not addressed by means of covering it up with artificial sand. It has also failed to restore the bay’s biological functions. The polluted waters were not treated, floating debris still floated as usual. And all the government has achieved was to misappropriate the P389 million on unfounded science to a project that should not even be a priority. Now all that’s left is a bare beach and a few specks of dolomite.

Well, there goes the taxpayers’ money.

by Hemelyn Jilian Renee S. Agayam

You may have heard from the news that the W.H.O along with some partner companies are now working on a release for a vaccine on COVID-19, or you may have read an article on what to do to avoid the spread of the vaccine according to W.H.O, now who exactly is W.H.O? what are they doing now? And are they really relevant during this pandemic? Currently headed by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the W.H.O was established in 1984, it stands for “World Health Organization” its original purpose was to help with malaria, tuberculosis, and other communicable disease, it coordinates with different countries and NGOs and the UN, currently it has 194 member states. The W.H.O has no right whatsoever to interfere in a country’s response to viruses. The function of W.H.O is to coordinate and direct authority on international health work, ensure valid technical cooperation, and promote research. W.H.O along with COVAX, they are currently monitoring the people who have received the vaccine, the first person to receive the Pfizer vaccine is Margaret Keenan, 90(folks, remember her name, she will soon be appearing in tests). And is still keeping in track with the number of cases of covid-19 around the world, currently there is a total of 68,845,368 cases around the world with Philippines having 446K cases. Is the W.H.O really relevant this pandemic, well yes, they are, they keep track of COVID-19 cases, and tell people on what to do during the pandemic even providing a series as to what is COVID 19, currently it has a total of 16 episodes, explaining how the transmission of virus works, how vaccines work and more(it is accessible thru this link: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/media-resources/science-in 5). The W.H.O works to communicate with every country to help lessen the spread of disease and continue the search of the virus. With the virus still around, please continue to take precautions when going out, continue on wearng masks and hopefully we soon get to go back to our daily lives and see each other again!