As I write this column, there were almost 89 million COVID-19 cases worldwide. The US had the most reported with 22 million, followed by India with 10 million and Brazil with 8 million. The Philippines reported almost 490,000 and will soon breach the half a million mark. It was in the 30th spot worldwide and the second highest in ASEAN after Indonesia’s close to 800,000 cases. There is a strong correlation between the reported cases worldwide with the size of its population. But a compounding effect of population is the movement of people within the country’s borders as well as cross-country travel. It can be shown that there is also a strong correlation between the number of air travel passengers in a country with its number of COVID-19 cases.
Hence, one of the things that were curtailed at the outset of the country’s quarantine was travel. There was a time air and ship travel was not allowed. Now that they are allowed, there are various restrictions for people taking time, like having health certificates, swab tests, limited capacities, use of face masks and shields, among other health measures.
Provincial buses crossing provincial boundaries are still limited. Metro Manila buses and other public conveyances (jeeps, taxis, FX, TNVs) are still controlled to limit the movement of people, which may also contain the spread of the virus.
Aside from the mobility of people being controlled, gatherings and crowds are strongly discouraged. Government, business, social, and family events that necessitate the gathering of people are encouraged to be held in a virtual environment.
The Philippines collectively celebrate over 42,000 festivals every year. That’s more than 100 every day in one year! Most local festivities are religious or cultural, with many festivals honoring the local Catholic saint or historical periods of time in the Philippines. Some festivals celebrate the local harvest or community products, like Baguio’s Panagbenga in celebration of the city’s flowers or the Lanzones festival of Camiguin.
Festivals are community activities that foster oneness and a sense of pride among the hosts. It also creates opportunities to generate income for the host communities and draw tourists to their locales to participate in the festivals. Tourists participation has a multiplier impact in terms of livelihood and revenues for communities concerned.
The advent of COVID-19 has either put a complete stop to the observance of the festivals or has made the organizers to be creative and responsible in the way they plan to hold the festivals so as not to endanger the community and participants to the events. Take, for example, the celebration honoring the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, where thousands usually join the annual procession, which this year has been done away with. Instead, the parish has organized masses with limited access as well as disciplined lines, so the faithful joining them will observe social distancing with proper face masks and shields and registration for contact tracing. They also have live-streamed masses so those who cannot physically come to the church can participate in them.
Another big event”•the Sinulog Festival in Cebu with its day-long float parades and dance competition has been scaled down with competitive presenters being asked to submit their presentations in video format which can be shared to the public and be the basis of judging. The festival anchored its activities on its root”•the church-based commemoration to honor Señor Sto. Nino with churches set up to observe social distancing and health protocols.
The Panagbenga Festival in Baguio–another major event–will do away with the famous floral floats, which draw crowds from all over–and will focus on a mixture of virtual and face to face gatherings that will have to adhere to the strict implementation of the prescribed health and safety protocols.
These three examples are not what we are used to in how the festivities were conducted in the past. But in recognition of the current health condition due to COVID-19, we have to adapt our festivities and celebration so as not to contribute further to the spread of the virus. It will certainly bring about the organizers’ creativity (live streaming, mixed-mode, controlled face-to-face interactions) in holding the events. What is important is keeping the celebration alive–modest in scale and activities but being true to affirming our faith–in the case of Black Nazarene and Señor Sto. Nino–or affirming the product–in the case of flowers in Panagbenga and lanzones–which has given pride and economic benefits to the community.
Dr. Berino is an Associate Professional Lecturer with the Decision Sciences and Innovation Department of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University. He can be reached at dennis.berino@dlsu.edu.ph.
The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.