The year is ending, deadlines are fast approaching, and Spotify is wrapping up people’s past tunes in this pandemic. And now, is a time to wrap up and rewind how the Philippines ended up in its current predicament.
The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the first case of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the previous name of COVID-19, in the country dated January 21, 2020. The carrier was asymptomatic, meaning the person had the virus but showed no symptoms. Just as in the case, the country showed no overwhelming shock even if an underlying disaster was present.
Unbeknownst to us, this simple arrival had contributed to the plunge of the Philippine economy to its worst contraction. “The economy had already posted a 10 percent contraction in the first three quarters, the worst since the 1985 debt crisis, due to a plunge in private domestic demand, deep contraction in investment activities, and weak exports.“ (The Worldbank 2020).
The COVID-19 Pandemic filled news reports back in January 2020 with president Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to not close the country’s borders and have not issued a ban on travel between China. "As of now, we cannot understand why there is a need to impose a ban on Chinese nationals. I wish that the mayors carefully study the proposals and talk with the DOH before they decide if it is needed". The Chinese Consul General Jia Li also argued through an interpreter during a press conference in Cebu (CNN, 2020). Safety protocols, sanitations, and the preparedness to combat the virus were not something the people and authorities prioritized at that time.
2019-nCoV was like a robber who came unannounced. Henning Mankell’s quote: “Impossible planning, strange priorities and a continual lack of information.” reflected the earlier stage of the pandemic. The limited amount of information present and disseminated during that time urged the Filipinos to be content and continue with the daily routine. The majority of the people would admit that they felt relieved and didn’t treat the announcement as a big deal. The suspension of classes was a sigh of relief for students since it gave them a chance to bid goodbye to the deadlines and lectures. But the ever-increasing cases in the coming months have shifted the public’s perception; that an infected one’s fate is death.
“But, this pandemic robbed something from me, from all of us.” Lalaine Ramos, 19, student of Information Technology. COVID-19 robbed students of memories of the lives of loved ones, plans, and dreams. Just like a house is thrown into a frenzy after a robbery. The virus threw the country into a frenzy and rendered 64% of households had a member lose their job due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) as of 2020, and 792 thousand overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) repatriated (Statista Research Department, 2021).
The list goes on. As part of this devastating history, you know how the story goes on to the present.
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Written by: Nethaniah Jan J. Lim
Layout and Design by: Mark Halim and Adrian Nabua
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