Rep. Tonypet T. Albano,
1st District, Isabela Province
Our brave and hardworking President Duterte has declared the Philippines in a “State of Calamity” with ”Enhanced Quarantine Level.” This means we have billions of pesos to fight this pandemic of biblical proportions that is deadly, real, and very much contagious. So don’t panic, but please take this declaration of war against COVID-19 seriously!
For those who are questioning about how we, especially the poor, can buy and eat food if we are not allowed to work? If need be, everyone, especially the poor, will be food rationed. All government preparations are already being drawn and are ready for implementation to help with food, security, and to provide what we need, and more. We do have enough food and medicines for months and months on end. So please don’t be alarmed and hoard.
We ALL will suffer and get hit economically, poor and rich alike. But it is better to make people, especially the poor, stay home to stop and end the proliferation of mass infections like the super rapid exponential infections we have seen in China, Europe, Iran, US, etc.
If we get into a full blown widespread uncontrollable epidemic, our Philippine Health System (hospitals and medical staff) are NOT FULLY EQUIPPED, & probably won’t be able cope and handle decisively and properly the likes of what has happened in Wuhan, Italy, South Korea, Japan, and the other rich and powerful countries. If they already failed to stop the spread by the thousands of people in a month, i cannot imagine what will happen if we did not have this semi lockdown. We dare not risk that kind of disaster to test whether we can handle such an epidemic of great numbers of sick and dying people.
The Philippines will be far worse if we let people, poor and rich, go to work and get infected. We will truly become a sad state and country if we don’t head the call for extreme strict quarantine measures.
We are lucky that The Executive headed by PRRD, The Legislative, The Judiciary, and all government agencies took and is taking drastic and fast actions in shutting down the entire Philippines with the Enhanced Quarantine declaration! Otherwise, our country would become desolate and be in terrible trouble in just one month of sporadic transmition.
Pls understand that we need to lock down for at least a month, or even longer. Statistics tells us that the only way to solve this crisis is to starve the virus by quarantine at this point in time. There is NO MEDICINE, NO VACCINE, and NO CURE yet made, and this virus can kill you in less than 2 weeks. And 1 person infected that is roaming around will infect thousands in 1 month… millions in a few more months. It has happened before where a virus and pandemic killed millions of people.
This crisis is REAL, very dangerous, highly contagious, and this could lead to your death.
Now, for a question posed to me: “does it makes sense to have people work so they can have money to pay for food, medicines, and basic necessities? No. No. No.
The government will and CAN provide food, and later on, provide stimulus packages to revive our economy and create jobs for the poor. The big businesses will and are already contributing immensely to the food and economic solutions. The world is now poised to provide each other food and economic stimulus to create jobs as we speak. And if there is one silver lining in this viral crisis, is that governments, philanthropists, and ordinary people are now helping each other without any political agenda or selfish gains. All help done by countries and the ordinary citizens are done out of love and care for everyone, poor or rich, black of white, young or old. This is the time for all of us to have a sense of duty for our people and our country!
Understand that jobs and money can be created and earned. But reviving you & others from DEATH cannot be done no matter how much money we have or what job we do.
This is the time we all become heroes in our little spheres of influences.
We can choose to help by staying home, making ourselves strong, taking care of our household, and also contributing food and medicine or money or anything to help our medical practitioners, government workers, and volunteers who are in the front line of the war, risking their lives to fight this virus for you and me.
Let’s treat this crisis as a REAL WAR! In fact, we really are now at war with Covid19.
And like World War 2, we don’t expect people to work or complain about our situation no matter how difficult it is, just as long as we can eat and are not in harms way. We expect poor and rich people to fight for their basic survival now. That’s what we have now, a real war where survival is already key and immediate!
So let’s educate others to go into a war mode, and hunker down, and help instead of becoming a burden by arming ourselves what are important tasks we should now apply. we need to ask questions that are pertinent, and do your part in not burdening the system. Be diligent in cleaning your house and be very hygienic like exposing all your personal items to direct sunlight. Do more to protect your immunity. Be creative and don’t be idle fighting this war that will surely change our life as we know it.
This is the time for US President John F.Kennedys calling with a Tonypet-stark Albano twist; “Ask not what your government can do for you ‘during this real Covid19 war crisis,’ but rather, ask what you can do for your ‘country and yourselves in this real war crisis to end the suffering and killing of many people by this virus!’”
I hope this is clear to all, and that we start to cooperate instead of question our government’s decision to lock our country down. You can send this message to anyone who still doesn’t understand what we are in for, or even add to it if necessary. Please explain to them that we are at war, and they need to act now before its too late for them and their love ones!
Therefore, let us all pray that this war crisis will end soon; and that we find a cure immediately; and that we all start to love and care for one another; and that we and our love ones don’t get infected; and that we don’t become a burden to our government and to society; and that we survive this war economically, spiritually, emotionally, and physically; and that we will all live to see the time when we can all go out and hug or kiss each other once more. All this we ask in Jesus’s name, AMEN!