Love your neighbor as you love yourself — Happy Easter!

Nothing can stop the Filipinos from praying. Our Catholic faith has remained intact and more than ever has become stronger. On bended knees, the whole nation asked for God to heal our land.

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

Prayer makes our heart stronger. It gives us inner peace. It calms our spirit and it saves us from the “farce of hell”. From the start of the quarantine period, we have already turned to God. The two-week lock down has prepared our spirit and cleansed it before the Holy Week.

This pandemic has given us many realizations about ourselves, our loved ones, our leaders and our country.  The solitude of being alone and having more time to ourselves has made us reflect on the core of our very own person. The struggles, sacrifices and challenges we experience has tested our inner spirits. The way we relate to others, be it our loved ones, our co- workers, our community members – all these in some way or the other have taught us to be patient and humble. It has made us realize that we need to be more understanding of others’ needs. We have seen the true colors of our leaders in times of trouble. We now know who are good and who are evil.

My grandfather a devout Catholic, the late Assemblyman Benito Soliven once wrote, “There are men so blinded by ignorance or pride who do not appreciate the immense power of prayer. But it is a fact that, as Tennyson said, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world thinks of.” Even science has begun to recognize this fact, and it has shown that what was considered by the incredulous as superstitious belief in the efficacy of science is not so, for strange as it may sound, it has been recently demonstrated by science that “prayer is power.”

Today is a new day. It is Easter. God has risen! We need all the power to be God-like. We must be strong and ready to face the world in what this new life will bring us. As the numbers increase in our country and around the world, we continue to be at a standstill until we find solutions. Governments are challenged to come up with economic and industrial stimulus packages to fight the crisis. Relief packages continue to be distributed. But the bigger question is – how long will all these last?

The very sad part is corruption in the face of the crisis. While promises are made, evil lurks in government. Those Pontius Pilates (those who don’t want to take the responsibility or blame), the Judases (those who deceive the people), the pharisees (hypocrites taking advantage of the situation ), the Herods (weak leaders full of greed) – are all under Satan’s spell. In the coming days, watch-look-listen as our leaders continue to give us “empty promises.” 

If we don’t get our act together this nation will drown. Enough of your agendas and taking advantage of the crisis. Amidst all the pain, chaos, uncertainties, you need to stop fighting and competing over the budgets that need to be released to hospitals, to the scientists, to the people, and to those who count most.

Who is accounting for all the government and private funds going out in the time of Covid-19? We need transparency. Is government strengthening anti-corruption measures? How sad it is that we need to deal with this double-whammy. The country is suffering, and we still have these bad people trying to take advantage of the situation.

The implementation and distribution of emergency subsidy according to Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act needs to be clear. When will these funds be released in the different barangays or municipalities? Every Tom, Dick and Harry continue to point fingers at each other or scratch their heads seemingly confused about all these. In Filipino, excuse my words, nagtatanga-tangahan. Sanamagan!

By the way, the law provides that each of the 18 million low income households will receive around P5,000 to P8,000 a month for two months. Target beneficiaries of the financial assistance are: Families with at least one member who is a/an: senior citizen; person with disability; pregnant and lactating woman; solo parent; member of the poor indigenous community; homeless; informal economy worker (such as directly hired, subcontracted house helpers, public utility drivers, street vendors); anyone who earns wage below the prescribed minimum rate (examples: dishwashers and helpers in carinderia); employee with no-work no-pay situation; a distressed overseas Filipino worker; entrepreneur with an asset of less than P100,000; family enterprise owner; farmer; fisherfolk; and stranded workers who cannot return to their places of residence at the moment.              

Can you imagine, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (or DSWD) is supposed to distribute social amelioration cards in preparation for the distribution of cash assistance with the help of the LGUs. But the problem is that many LGUs don’t have complete database of existing beneficiaries. Shouldn’t the LGUs update their records regularly? And to make things worse, the DSWD has disclosed allegations of LGUs selling social amelioration cards and abusing emergency subsidies. Didn’t we also hear the news about some barangay tanods hoarding food packages and selling the items? Susmariosep! These people should be the ones punished instead of the hungry who run amok when food distribution took place or those who were exercising holy penitential rites on the streets.                

The Department of Labor and Employment (or DOLE) on the other hand, has distributed P160 million cash aid under the COVID-19 Adjustment Measure Program. According to Labor Secretary Bello, they have recorded more than 630,000 workers displaced by reason of temporary closure or flexible work arrangements. Unemployed overseas Filipino workers were given a one-time P10,000 assistance. The question is, who decides who will get such aid? Are we back to the padrino system?

As the enhanced community quarantine continues until April 30, 2020 and with cases rising 4,428 cases, 247 deaths, and 157 recoveries, what will happen to the low-income, middle-income and upper income taxpayers? What about the entrepreneurs, the businessman – the small, medium and micro/ macro businesses? We need to hear plans and directions. Every day we listen to the Department of Health officials on television and radio; shouldn’t we hear from the others in government who can give us a clarity of vision for the days and months to come?

Yes, our strong Christian faith is what will save us. It heals us. But it mustn’t be abused. Government must step up and work to continue the battle that lies ahead. There is no justification on the number of deaths and sacrifices our people have gone through, a declaration of purpose as we wait and hope for a new beginning with renewed spirits and fervor for our country is in order.