National intervention

It came as a shock when the president announced that he will be deploying Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to Cebu to check on the status and apply drastic moves to implement the quarantine protocols of the city. Three months after the Enhanced Community Quarantine, cases in the city haven’t declined. The figures are mind-boggling as the police try to make everyone stay home. As of this writing, 150 Special Action Force commandos are readying themselves to take on the role of making everyone follow rules.

The national intervention is welcomed, but it only gives us a clearer picture of what’s happening. A lot of things need to be improved. There were lapses that weren't seen before and now have to be corrected. Sometimes, I like to ask "why wasn’t this done in the past months?" but it’s already too late to do so. We only have to cooperate and submit ourselves to stricter quarantine.

The tag of us Cebuanos being hard-headed is nothing but true, but not for all, I suppose. I have scoured the streets of Alaska, Mambaling, and saw many people out in the streets. Most of them didn’t wear face masks and ignored proper social distancing. They are unwary of the potential spread of the virus. They live their lives as if it is all normal, which is very unfair. At the barangay borders, I see many individuals trying to justify to the police why they have to cross areas. The order is simple: Stay home. However, some find this very hard to do.

We are all sick and tired of the ECQ and we must all move on. The rest of the country is slowly transitioning into the new normal but we are being left behind. We must bear the consequences of the actions we have done in the past weeks when protocols were lax. There is nothing to do but just follow. Stop justifying the need to go out. It may be very boring inside our homes (plus the humidity and heat) but we all need this period to be over.

I long for the day when national officials report to the president that we are already okay. The day when Cimatu has to leave Cebu, I hope he is proud that we have all done our part. For now, there will be many changes but we must all adjust. A few more days of this and we might be already reaping the fruits of our labor. The challenge is to flatten the curve, it has always been that way.

As policemen continue to patrol the streets, respect them by following orders. We're sure they’re here not to fight a war, but to discipline hard-headed people.