Reaching a breaking point

There are moments when you know things are reaching a breaking point and about to boil over. The leaked viral video footage of Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque is one such moment. When his outburst against Dr. Maricar Limpin, president of the Philippine College of Physicians, spread like wildfire across the internet, we were all front row to a breaking point moment.

I think everyone has known for a while now that the government has been carefully losing control of the pandemic response. Understandably, they are dealing with a lot more with the recent surge of Delta cases, but as we watch the quarantine status go back and forth, and fights breaking out amongst groups that are supposed to be working together to find solutions, the public can’t help but wonder how well this bodes for the country as a whole.

What we need now more than anything is unity and a strong plan in place to combat this new strain and surge of COVID-19. We’ve been needing this for over a year, but now even more than ever as Delta pushes cases up to over 26,000 a day. We are ominously close to 30,000 daily as projected. This is a milestone nobody wants to reach.

However, without a unified front and all hands on deck, it’s only a matter of time before everything gets completely out of control. Roque’s recent outburst isn’t making things any better. Doctors, nurses, and the medical community have been stretched thin for months. As cases increased, more and more doctors and nurses have been working overtime and exposing themselves to risks daily. It’s no wonder that several of them have had enough and have walked away.

As the battle looks more and more like a losing one, we are losing more and more frontliners. We need the government and the medical community to work together. That’s the only way we’ll be able to even remotely face the challenges that lie ahead. Delta is still here and more and more people are getting sick. If we lose health frontliners, things are only going to get worse.

The death toll is rising and this time it feels different from what it was like last year. Now, more and more people are getting infected that it’s no longer an abstract concept. Now it’s people you know, people you love. The pandemic has become personal for so many people, and at the moment, it looks bleak because we don’t have a strategic plan forward.

Now is not the time to fight amongst ourselves. The government needs everyone’s support and they aren’t going to get it playing the blame game and berating the people they are asking to fight the biggest battles. At the very least, President Duterte understands the precariousness of the situation and has decided to postpone the shift to general community quarantine and granular lockdowns while they figure out exactly what this means. At the end of the day, he also understands that it is still unsafe without the right protocols and processes in place.

The government has to work closely with the frontliners and the agencies tasked with pandemic control and response. This means, putting everything else aside and getting the house in order. Hazard pay must be given to healthcare professionals and all the issues with Red Cross and PhilHealth have to be fully addressed and dealt with as fast as possible. No more time for politicking and going slow. We need to move forward with all pistons firing.

We say the same thing every time there is a surge, but this is probably the truest it has ever been. This is the 11th hour and unless we get our act together, hospitals will overflow, the healthcare system will collapse, more and more people will die, and things will spiral completely out of control.

We all have a part to play and we need to do it now before it’s too late.

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With the pandemic putting the importance of good leadership in the spotlight these past several months, it’s not surprising that many voters are already feeling that this upcoming election is going to be bigger and more poignant than ever. Do we keep the status quo or do we try something new? That’s the question that voters are asking themselves.

With the filing of candidacy fast approaching and names already being thrown around for this or that position, it’s become increasingly important for everyone to start learning more about their choices in the upcoming elections. It’s not just about knowing who is running, but learning about the platform they are running on and what that could mean for the country.

Voters must remember to register. Now, more than ever, people need to be sure that their voices are heard. We already lost a lot of time for registration during the renewed lockdown. Now there are just a few weeks left (no telling if the registration will be extended), and everyone that needs to register has to head to a Comelec satellite sign-up hub as soon as possible. There are several in the malls, so be sure to look up a schedule near you.

Be prepared to wait when you go. Several people have been sharing their registration stories online and have said they had to wait for several hours. Be prepared and be sure to wear all safety equipment – double masks, shields, alcohol, and social distance as much as possible to stay safe.

We all have a chance to say what the next six years will be like in the Philippines. We all have to be responsible and do our part.