2021-013 | THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES

WHEN NEWS OF THE VIRUS spread its infection from ground zero in Wuhan to the rest of China and over its borders, I was quite alarmed because the Philippines does not have a very efficient health-care system. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is weak and 5 is strong, my country is down there hovering between 0.5 to 0.8, nowhere near those countries where we thought are weaker than ours.

That is because we have a very large population broken into islands and regions where each has a disappointing bed-to-population ratio with its unique set of problems which may cause the prevention and the containment of the virus very difficult. The Philippines is simply not ready for a pandemic and the government lacked people with sufficient experience, knowledge and skills who could tackle this problem head on. 

This was a medical problem that needed medical solutions but the final decisions were from the retired generals and politicians who insisted on treating this as a military campaign. Our doctors and men of science were relegated to the background and bawled over when they insisted on their scientific-based opinions, just like what China was doing to its scientists. 

I could never fathom the meekness of my government to China and started accepting Chinese tourists (while others closed their borders with China) in the most vulnerable time of the pandemic. In fact, a Chinese woman from Wuhan started the circus here when she appeared in Cebu in early February 2020 and infected everyone who came into contact with her. That news placed everyone in fear and uncertainty and that was a bad sign of the times.

 

I am a reluctant prepper. I advocate prepping but not the type of prepping that is beyond your means. I have been prepping myself, my family and my home for all calamities, natural or man-made, if and when it comes knocking in our time. This pandemic tested me and, so far, in my self-assessment, I am slightly better than my neighbors. Simply because, I am a prepper and I follow protocols.

The “new normal” screwed people so hard that they find it hard to adapt to this and discard their old habits with which their comforts are dependent on. Likewise, the government is so inept and does not have a long-term national plan to combat this pandemic. Fake news floated in social media and added to the confusion. Everything seemed to be going against us as lockdown after lockdown were imposed to contain an invisible enemy. 

Lockdowns, known here as Enhanced Community Quarantine, Modified ECQ, General CQ and Modified GCQ, jumped back and forth, according to the severity of the statistics of a city or province. Cebu City became the “center of the pandemic” as government kept on pointing fingers at anybody except themselves. The inner suburbs indeed has people who disdained the safety protocols and have added to the problem.  

It was in these times – at the beginning, during and the current stages of the pandemic - that I braved the streets and “broadcast” my opinions, criticisms, observations, apprehensions, satires and appreciation in Facebook as “El Bandido”, in my pandemic-long “syndicated” SIGNS OF THE TIMES. I used the same hash-tags over and over: #fortresscebu, #wuhanvirus and #apocalypsis. 

FORTRESS CEBU. It is a jibe at government, and later, businesses, for taking a heavy hand on the population, creating rouge fortresses and backyard kingdoms out of fear. People too became midget castles of their mind. Travel, for a time, out of your home was forbidden as well as of people visiting you. All access to communities were barred. 

We have seen how our government reacted to the pandemic. You shake a head. Sometimes you are amused but, most of the time, you swear at them with contempt. This swirl of the pandemic in this country was caused, in the first place, by our government’s negligence, ineptness and cowardice to tackle a problem called China.   

 

We lost our advantage of isolation because of our government’s subservience to the wishes of China! We are already suffering from their deadly experiment and yet their nationals come and go as they please. Our local leaders are overruled by those traitors in Malacañan. These people placed more care on Chinese nationals than us Filipinos! 

Because they could do nothing against Chinese nationals, they locked us down against our wishes. We complied with that when it is for the common good. In fact, I encouraged people to follow safety protocols at all times; the wearing of masks; the observance of physical distancing; personal hygiene like frequent washing and self-isolation; and correct people who believed the pandemic is a scam!

 

Adapting to the pandemic, I added items that would keep me protected, as much as possible, from infection: an elastic neck warmer with two medical masks as backup; an alcohol-based spray disinfectant; and a hand tool for opening doors and punching elevator keys. When the need arises, I wear a tinted “vanity” face mask or a safety goggles. And, of course, frequent washing. 

WUHAN VIRUS. As much as people, government and media would like to refer to this deadly virus as COVID-19, or novel corona virus, I would use “Wuhan Virus”, because it starts from there in Wuhan, China. To remind people with short memories, that the greatest pandemic of this decade came from there – CHINA.

Wuhan Virus is a biological weapon manufactured in one of their secret laboratories. It is meant to harm people and nations; to destroy their military and economic capacity. China do not discriminate when it wages war. Civilians are still active opposition and mouths to feed. We have seen how they committed genocide in Tibet and on their own citizens in Tiananmen Square. It is a ruthless country.

 

It is so easy for them to impose their draconian measures against their own population but we should never do that on our own. We are a nation of many faiths, whose population are absorbed with their own spirituality. We know our very own human rights and we know where we stand. It is against our rights then when our own government exposes us to harm.

Opening our borders with China for many months during the pandemic, despite a great clamor, was a collective violation of our rights. So was converting public schools into isolation centers for people suspected of Wuhan Virus infections – a PUI or person under investigation. These schools are in close proximity to thickly-populated neighborhoods where aerosols could go over barriers and distance. 

Every cadaver were treated as a PUI even when each have died of natural causes and accidents. When your own dead loved one is a PUI, the dead must be buried within 24 hours, foregoing the usual wakes and other rites reserved as respect for the dead. People suffering from simple ailments would never go to a hospital, afraid of being treated as a PUI, and would rather self-isolate and inhale steam. 

This Wuhan Virus is not to be taken lightly even if the lockdowns have been eased a little. There are so many contrasting stories circulating, about its origins and that it begins to be a scam engineered, allegedly, by wealthy individuals and big pharmaceutical companies. These stories only make you more susceptible to infection because you would drop your guard. It is propaganda; most likely, of Chinese origins and funding. 

APOCALYPSIS. People still could not comprehend that what we are facing against is not that so complicated. We just have to observe the protocols to the heart and rid of the old habits for a while. It is all about hygiene and human contact since infection is a two-way affair. Distance, hygiene and isolation plays a better part in this pandemic.

 

I value my personal freedom but it is not about me this time. I may even not know that I am an asymptomatic carrier and that what counts. I hate this herd mentality but I could blend, adapt and improvise so I could retain and enjoy my individuality. Never ever consider it defiance against the protocol but, a defiance instead against Wuhan virus and the general stupidity prevailing. 

My preferences are different than what is required. You desired the disposable mask but I liked better the elastic neck warmer, folded twice, to make my breathing difficult. If I suffered from lack of oxygen, how much more with floating aerosols? I washed it and use it again as against piling or disposing unsafe garbage. 

Then the government task force imposed the face shield on transportation and that is alright even though it is very cumbersome and has very little protection against this virus. A safety goggles is much better but I compromised and bought a tinted “vanity” face shield where I could use it as an alternative to my now obsolete Ray-Ban Wayfarer.

A certain bus company, however, would not allow me a seat with that. They insist with that flimsy acetate face shield which people placed over their heads instead of shielding the faces. If 40 passengers have this type, I am quite sure only 4 or 5 are wearing it properly. I am at a loss really if it is really safe against infection if placed over the head as against mine worn properly? 

The department stores instantly became “transportations” when they insist a face shield upon entry. That is alright for as long as they do not discriminate my vanity face shield. People do not properly wear it anyway when shopping while mine is. The only problem with face shields in walled establishments is that it adds to the stuffiness of the air you breathe.

Another of my preference was folding my quarantine pass eight times and place it in a pocket as against people who hanged it in front of their chests because a city government employee said so. They looked funny as you meet them on the streets with laminated A4-sized bondpapers on their front where a breeze would slap it against their faces.

 

When the filling up of contact-tracing forms became mandatory for all when entering department stores, most stores just throw their social responsibilities away at their customers by leaving them jostling for space to fill the forms. It was like somebody was tossing paper bills on a crowd. Only Gaisano Main has imposed a good system. 

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FEAR WOULD MAKE YOU respect death. I walked with trepidity, giving a wide berth to people; refusing to be part of a crowd and the long lines of panic buyers. Frequent washing of hands are observed in my household. While all rejoice in downgrading of the ECQ into a GCQ, my house remained in ECQ status as our defense mechanism. 

New habits developed as we adapt in a pandemic. You learn to shop online but once the merchandise arrived, the packaging is washed, opened to examine the item, and left it to settle for three days while I wash my hands again. Each time coins and bills came into our possession from outside, we washed our hands.

During the most severe lockdown, the thoroughfares were empty of cars and trucks. There were almost no people. It was like 1972 again when a dictator proclaimed martial law. The silence of the nights during the lockdown curfews was very soothing despite the heat of the tropical summer. When heavy rains finally arrived in May, I bathed fully naked outside because there were no people around. 

The photos tell how I aged during the pandemic. The lockdown started so late already, in March 22, 2020, but we are not out of the woods yet. The lack of exercise left me with a pot belly. The stamina that I have nurtured for years is gone. What I have now is a white beard and an equally white long hair.

Grown my hair long since February of last year. It is my own silent protest of the government’s handling of the pandemic. I will cut it short when all the clowns are gone. It had been a long nightmare and the trauma of that comes every now and then. I hope to see the last of these clowns in 2022. If not, the hair stays long.    

Photo Nr 1 from BioWorld

Photo Nr 2 from Inside Racing

Photo Nr 3 from ABS CBN News

Photo Nr 14 from Glen Pestaño