Keeping our country alive

My pulse is wiry, says the doctor after quickly checking my wrist. My heart needs to calm down, he says — figuratively, I hope. The anxiety ebbs and flows.

The days haven’t been easy for all of us I guess. If anything, 2020 has made its point. It’s one hell of a year and we’re all overwhelmed with what’s happening around us.

But this isn’t about the erratic flow of blood from my heart. Like our individual selves, our country is barely surviving. My visit to the doctor simply reminded me about this country’s pulse and heart, or whatever’s left of the two.

Last week, I had to go to the mall for a lunch interview. It was eerily empty, even parking booths were abandoned. I wondered if opening malls was even worth the risk because after the initial reopening euphoria, they’re still mostly empty anyway more than a month since the lockdown eased.

There’s not a single customer in many retail shops. Stand-alone nooks selling food or what have you are covered with draperies. Gone are the sellers, gone are the goods, gone are the buyers.

Our country’s pulse is weak. Blood can hardly flow from the heart, almost wanting to clot, as if you’d feel small pearls in its veins.

Job losses

People are losing jobs, even those from higher positions, including senior vice presidents. C-level officers are taking voluntary pay cuts and many employees are going on voluntary retirement.

Companies are either closing shop or downsizing. Aboitiz, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Okada Manila, AirAsia Philippines, Grab and Victoria Court are just some of those implementing layoffs, retrenchments or voluntary retirement programs just to survive this economic catastrophe caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

It is scary for everyone, but business owners must keep the faith in our country. The more they can afford, the more they should give back now.

Companies need to take a hit, too, especially those with strong balance sheets. Forget about profit this year. Help keep your employees alive and working.

Landlords also need to sacrifice and give their business tenants enough leeway to recover.

Tycoon Ramon Ang just the other day summed it well when asked why San Miguel Corp. continues to shell out money despite the hard times.

“Kailangan magpakita tayo na may confidence tayo sa ating bayan, sa ating kababayan at na gusto nating manatili dito sa Pilpinas. By hook or by crook, maubos man o kumita, we will go all out. We will invest in every opportunity there is, in every industry, every business to create more jobs for our people.”

Stimulus

Of course, the private sector cannot do it alone. The government must help companies.

But where’s the stimulus package when we need it most? The House of Representatives has passed the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy of the Philippines bill, but there seems to be an impasse because the executive said there’s not enough funding for it.

As I’ve said before, the two branches of government need to find a common ground because, in whatever form, we need a stimulus. We needed it yesterday.

The government can do it in two tranches, one now and another next year.

How then could this government prioritize the Anti-Terrorism Act when what we need now is a stimulus package to help our economy survive?

Wage support for companies is a must so that closing shop or laying off workers would be their last resort.

Corruption

I’m also calling for a moratorium on corruption. Every unscrupulous public official must stop the deeply ingrained corruption in his or her system while we’re facing this pandemic.

Now that our country is facing an extraordinary problem, let’s put our selfish interests aside. This is not the time to be greedy.

Yet, why are there still so many stories of corruption – from substandard PPEs to overpriced test kits?

Why, for instance, are some local governments in the Visayas pushing for tuob, or steam inhalation as a cure for COVID-19 when doctors themselves have debunked its effectiveness?

Is it because they are procuring steam inhalation kits for distribution to their constituents? Could some officials be earning from this?

We have no room for corruption at this time. We can’t play with people’s lives just to pocket taxpayers’ money.

This is not to say there’s an acceptable time to be greedy and corrupt. This is a plea out of frustration.

Staying alive

The government must realize that COVID-19 is the enemy, not critical voices who only want what’s best for our country.

No, we’re not winning this battle yet, unlike what Malacañang spokesperson Harry Roque claims. We haven’t even reached a position of strength. The number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, breaching the 40,000 mark only three days after June ended and moving past 42,000 just after two more days.

The goal is to keep everyone alive, to keep the economy afloat, to keep this country’s heart pumping and its pulse beating.

Only when we succeed in doing that can we truly say we are winning.

Iris Gonzales’ email address is [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at eyesgonzales.com