"President Duterte is better off dealing with the crisis without these characters."
"President Duterte is better off dealing with the crisis without these characters."
What started as a bright idea on the part of an ordinary do-gooder to share what she could to the needy in nearby communities has become such a huge cause celebre, much like a small bushfire gone wild.
And the reason for attracting so much public attention and sparking so much controversy was not confined to the demonstration effect such communal concern would normally beget, where people wanting to do something to help their fellowmen in times of crisis normally do.
It was the reaction of some people in government to the community pantry. It was a case of seeing red in practically anything and everyone, just like that Republican senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy, who accused so many Americans from academe, government and the arts as “communists” at the time of the Cold War.
From the unlamented senator who was eventually censured by his peers was derived the term “McCarythism” to denote anti-communist activities then, but has now evolved into a broader connotation to refer to reckless and unsubstantiated accusations on political targets.
In this time when all of our citizens are grappling with a pandemic, battling a war on an unseen virus that kills and debilitates, apart from causing the collapse of our economy, rendering millions jobless, hungry and desperate, we have no need of McCarthyists in our midst. We do not need Badoys and Parlades who see red wherever they please, who in this day and age still think that anything that quacks must be a duck.
A Catholic priest who works among the people of Batangas, and who was actively involved in helping evacuees from the Taal Volcano eruption in January of last year, sent me a very eloquent observation on the brouhaha over the community pantry. Said he:
“Filipinos are a relational and communal people. We do not like being independent, so we help and we ask for help.
“Filipinos are never ashamed of asking, or even begging for help. Our culture’s point of departure can be described in Tagalog as “kung nangangailangan, dapat ay tulungan”.
“That also explains the reality of extended families, of why OFWs work hard to help not only their immediate families but even cousins, uncles and other relatives when they need help.
“Kapag hindi tumulong, nagiging outcast sa pamilya, even if those relatives may simply be too lazy to work.
“Millions have become destitute because of the coronavirus pandemic, which is why there are long lines in the community pantries that have sprung (as started by the Maginhawa do-gooder named Patreng Non). “
Someone sent me a video clip taken from his car, where he showed the long, long line of people waiting to partake of whatever in the Maginhawa experiment turned folk culture.
Seeing red and ascribing subversive motives on the progenitor of the Maginhawa syndrome will simply be condemned and shouted out by the people, whether politicians, media, or common folk using social media platforms.
Because helping out is never a crime. And accepting help when in need is ingrained in our culture.
As my priestly friend said in his Viber message: “The brain can provide the thrust, while the heart will provide the care.”
Further he adds a commentary: “To borrow Christ’s words, Filipinos are like sheep without a shepherd in these times. What we need is a responsible and loving leader.”
He ended by citing someone who he thinks can fit that description in 2021. But I would rather not divulge his early choice.
Beleaguered as it already is, and how many other governments all over the world are now at their wit’s end in dealing with this unseen virus, ours certainly does not have any need for McCarthyists who seize on everything they see and hear and even smell as people out to subvert lawfully constituted authority.
President Duterte is better off dealing with the crisis without these characters.
* * *
Meanwhile, from here in Taipei where I had my first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the National Taiwan University Hospital (similar to our PGH which is operated by our premiere state university), comes a cautionary advice from Dr. James Liao, president of Taiwan’s leading research institute, the Academia Sinica, who encouraged everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19 despite the island’s low, low numbers of infection.
Speaking before the legislature, Dr. Liao dashed “overly optimistic” expectations of normalcy by year-end, noting the continual rise of new Covid variants elsewhere in the world.
Meanwhile, he urged the public to remain vigilant and to continue wearing face masks even after their vaccination, as the slowing down of transmissions due to vaccinations could easily be erased by a resurgence of infections.
In short, we should never let our guard down.
* * *
Even the travel “bubbles” which constitute experiments on normalizing international travel between “safe” countries or territories, are having problems with the initial wobbly steps.
Taiwan and Palau came up with a travel bubble which was launched with much fanfare late March. After a few trips, the bubble burst because of low demand.
Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand started a travel bubble as well recently. But just as soon as it started, a new outbreak of the virus struck in Australia, and the restrictions resumed.
IATA predicted last year that international travel would not normalize until 2024. The jeremiads of doom for our own travel industry have spawned bankruptcies all over, from airlines with both domestic and international service routes, to hotels and resorts, restaurants and other service establishments which cater to the travel industry. And has condemned the millions of their workers to penury.
When will we see a glimpse of the light at the end of this long dark tunnel?
And yet, we have to put up with characters who see red in so many things in these dark and desperate times.
