"They put their lives and future at stake."
Atypical, this week's celebration of the country's 122nd National Independence Day, with eight straightforward and manageable celebrations, as the Philippines continues to reel from the coronavirus pandemic.
The plain-sailing celebrations in at least three sites—under cloudy skies and spasmodic rains at the Rizal Monument in Manila, the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite, the site of the proclamation of Philippine Independence in 1898, and the Barasoain Church Historical Landmark in the City of Malolos in Bulacan where the First Philippine Republic was born in 1899—have been forced on this nation of 108 million by the dreaded coronavirus which has put the multi-ethnic archipelago under strict restrictions and quarantine protocols.
By Friday, while health authorities continued to battle anxiety and the challenges imposed by the deadly and unseen virus, at least 24,175 have been infected and 1,036 have died since the government clamped down an Enhanced Community Quarantine in mid-March in much of the country. And the numbers are rising.
It is only propitious that authorities have found it necessary, if mandatory, that the celebrations in the eight areas be limited each to 10 people, with a gentle but firm reminder to the public not to hold assemblies nor mass actions during the nationwide celebrations for health and safety reasons.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has warned on the eve of the celebrations that sanctions under existing public health laws remain in effect.
With the coronavirus still up and invisible, far more dangerous than a gruesome and repulsive leech, we cannot ignore those standing up to the unseen clapperclaws of the unforgiving coronavirus, blown to the country's shoreline, the countryside and the urban areas from its epicenter in Wuhan, China.
Reason why, as the country marked “Araw ng Kasarinlan” or “Araw ng Kalayaan” on Friday—a fitting moment for liberation from this hideous virus—we need to continue to celebrate, and be grateful for, the efforts and the sacrifices of the many nameless and faceless frontliners, properly the 21st century heroes of this generation.
They have staked their lives, their future that those who stay at home under the protocols may have a longer life to enjoy and continue to be of service eventually not only to kin and friends but to the community and the nation.
As we feel the symbols of Independence, we celebrate the frontliners.