Living in a bubble

EDITORIAL PROPER

Filipinos bid goodbye to March and greeted April with a second round of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) placed over the so-called NCR Plus, comprising the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved of this recommendation by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases after a sharp rise in the daily tally of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) cases, wherein record-high levels of new infections were consecutively reported. Resolution No. 106-A by the IATF cited the new variants of the illness, over one hundred thousand active cases as reasons for ECQ declaration. It also mentioned that the restriction intends to give time for the country’s health system to handle the situation. After more than a year of different levels of lockdown and an almost nonexistent vaccination program, the IATF just presented yet another questionable measure in a desperate effort to curb the consequences of the pandemic.

Dubbed as the strictest quarantine classification enforced in the country, NCR Plus is supposed to further ensure that the people will take health protocols more seriously. However, results showed that their new countermeasures only added to the burden and confusion of the citizens involved—another reason to consider why IATF is obviously providing an unreliable service to the people.

With the absurd guidelines of the supposed-to-be response, it is clear that IATF cannot solve this without acknowledging the nation’s healthcare system first and foremost, instead of fortifying this enforcement, but punishing the people, who are not to blame for the country’s poor pandemic response, in return. The first ECQ last year was put to waste because of its late implementation, lack of mass testing, and delayed procurement of vaccines. Aside from the opportunity and time, much of the emergency powers and budget allotted for managing this health crisis are mishandled. If they were not, then a second wave would be unnecessary. In addition, loans accumulated in 2020 are also unavailable for tracking. The rationale for those funds is to provide for the vaccines once they are available. One year later, the Philippines is now on the receiving end of donations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and manufacturers. On top of all these, not all provinces are experiencing a smooth distribution of the doses, and many medical workers are still anxiously waiting for their shot. Despite all the time and money that they were able to have, the government’s response still only composed of lockdowns that do nothing but plunge the Filipino people’s mental health and general well-being that even dug a deeper grave for the country’s economy. According to the WHO, the piled up psychological toll of pandemic anxiety, impending economic stability, and absence of some outdoor recreational activities – which people used as emotional outlets, will be a long-term problem after this worldwide health crisis. People are getting stressed each day while the President points the blame on them rather than building a wall to end the surge of the respiratory-related disease. Before putting the Philippines under quarantine, on a Global Schoolbased Student Health survey, 28.4 percent of Filipino teenagers manifested suicidal ideology, and over a year of foul play against the disease, the percentage of people who suffer from mental disorders have increased due to different factors affecting the individual such as sexual abuse, anxiety, verbal abuse, and bullying about having Covid-19.

Furthermore, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has reported that the national economy suffered a PhP180 billion loss due to the two-week ECQ. This is because some of the country’s main sources of finance were the ones affected. Saying that it is not yet too late for the Philippines to recover from this disaster is nothing but sugarcoated words, since several countries have already begun vaccinating their citizens and easing restrictions as early as January. Now, the people are calling for a vaccination drive, but last year’s oath remains unfulfilled. Long before the formation of the NCR Plus, government officials have already been living in a bubble, underestimating the possible effects of a pandemic, not being able to empathize with the masses and consequently failing to assess and fulfill their new necessities after being put under a lockdown, prioritizing other agenda, and missing accountability for the national funds and loans, are just some signs that those politicians are indifferent to the public they are supposed to serve. However, all bubbles pop inevitably, either because the water inside runs dry, there is too much air turbulence, or perhaps, it was pricked.

12 12

BEHIND THE scenes

Essay by Ruth Jamiel Ceniza Artwork by Marlou Cuarto

There had been countless of times when the voices of the common Filipinos are put to waste. They were always refused to be heard and prioritized like how politicians promised during their campaigns.

However, because of the rise of the digital world, this generation became unstoppable in engaging themselves in more serious topics and serve as the bombshell behind the scenes, exposing the reality of what other forms of media do not tell.

Since its global release in 2017, a platform that boomed is TikTok, an application originally designed for creating entertaining short videos with special effects and new music.

It was never intended to become a tool to promote beliefs or influence the people’s minds. But unknown to its creators, entertainment, especially for Filipinos, is not grounded to just showcase talents and humor.

Several influencers use this platform to share ideologies and political opinions, and to reveal what this generation has always been fearless to talk about, but lacked the proper channels to be heard.

There are multiple ways that political content is blatantly expressed on TikTok. These include the circulating shady jokes and trends that users participate in, content creators whose main focus is really on politics, actual politicians using the application, and utilization of news and media outlets. Each of these types of content usually contains a mixture of political humor, opinions, and news. Several influencers use this platform to share ideologies and political opinions, and to reveal what this generation has always been fearless to talk about, but lacked the proper channels to be heard.

Aside from how the Filipinos are using this app to deal with their quarantine series, they also turned to become eye-openers for those who are not yet aware of how the government has been playing the game, how chaotic the Philippines has been, while expressing their frustration and the fatal implications of these national events.

Moreover, those influencers who intend to share their views about politics also reign in the app. Although some of them are injecting jokes in the subject matter, matched with hilarious effects from the app to still bring up the quintessential entertainment TikTok was supposed to offer, one can sense the morals and realization the individual wants to express concerning his or her opinions.

In line with this, and acknowledging the fact that TikTok is not limited to light contents but also educational material, different news and media outlets also engage with their audience to spread political narratives and information.

This kind of entertainment became a field of interest, regardless of the shady discussions being tackled. Tiktok was said to have become a spontaneous response to existence, also one reason that makes it an ideal form of escapism while the nation is currently suffocating under the pandemic, to lessen boredom and distress, not mentioning that it is also a gateway to fame. Within just a few years, TikTok has gotten a lot of people to use it as a platform of inviting minds to join the reality. Led by this generation, more and more are exercising the power of freedom and national democracy.

Bleaching the blue impunity

Article by Lovely Faith Par Artwork by William Frederick Taday

Bang! There’s a man standing, wearing a blue uniform and holding a gun pointing at an individual. It was indeed an unforgettable sight for the five-year-old self of mine to be able to witness such an event.

A story was once told by my late grandmother as we are about to sleep. Don’t worry if things go wrong, there were policemen here in our country willing to protect the nation and its citizens. But me being able to witness a traumatic event wherein an innocent individual is bullied just because words being said hurt the feeling of a cop, made me no longer believe what my lola told me. Years have passed and I was able to have a glimpse of hope that some policemen will no longer boast about their uniform. I really believe that everyone in the community is equal even if they are graduate or undergraduate, wearing a janitorial uniform or professional uniform, and holding a weapon or having none on hand at all. Looking at the positive side, there are policemen who are dedicated to service and righteous in fulfilling their duties. Unfortunately, those who are corrupt minded may inflict bad influence to those who are good-natured. In this modern generation wherein, social media is the most powerful tool to inform and gather opinions of its users, a lot of things go viral when people recognize unrighteous and shameful act. Remember the recent death of the Gregorio mother and son, those who are killed by a drunk policeman defending the ill-mannered daughter.

“My father is a policeman.” This statement uttered by the kid suddenly changed to, “My father is a killer.” Such a situation only proved that some policemen are thinking highly of themselves and have a dominion over others.

We also heard of stories wherein policemen were exempted from punishments and the whistleblowers emphasized that the practice is done in order to stop mockery of the whole police department of the Philippines. This is clearly an injustice and manipulation of the human rights. Those who did wrong and violated the rights of every human being living in the Philippines must be punished by the law. Rich and poor should be equal in the eye of trial and no one shall be denoted as an exemption.

Worst of the worst situations keep happening and it defines the whole of the service policemen are offering. With them not abiding the law, abusing power, mocking innocent citizens, and covering up the crimes of one another, are they still worthy of the badge and uniform they wear?