Cebuanos helping out mountain farmers

I know that Malacañang is expected to announce new quarantine classifications for the month of September. Police Regional Office-7 is recommending an extension of the general community quarantine (GCQ) status in Cebu City as suggested by PRO-7 Director Albert Ignatius Ferro who pointed out that he is being conservative and careful with his recommendation. Yes, our medical concerns are now being suggested by the police. I find this funny. Sure Cebu City was once the so-called hotspot of COVID-19 but somehow we have brought down the figures in the last month.

Perhaps one reason is that Cebuanos on that Sunday did not go to shopping malls simply because they have air-conditioning which could carry the dreaded virus. So after going to the Mass in Sacred Heart Church, I proceeded to go up the mountains of Kang-Irag and go all the way to buy fruits and sweet corn. I could sense that thousands of Cebuanos were doing the same thing. They bought fruits or sweet corn from the farmers. Many also bought flowers, plants, and pottery. I can only second-guess that many people who have stayed home due to the lockdown now realized that their homes lack greenery like plants or vegetable gardens. What I saw was, Cebuanos were helping the poor farmers by buying their products.

Going up the Transcentral Highway was easy enough, with little traffic slowing us down. However, in our return back to the city, there was a humongous more-than-a-kilometer-long traffic that began near the road that leads to GMA-7, passing through Marco Polo Plaza Hotel and ending up in Cosmo Nivel Hills where there was a checkpoint manned by two patrolmen. Allow me to say that at this point, we rarely experience bad traffic since most people still stay at home.

I dare say that Director Ferro should implement his border patrols with more men so that it is not the PNP that causes traffic. I’m glad that we still have border patrols. However, officers of the PNP should check whether or not their border patrols are causing traffic like what happened last Sunday. All they needed was to add more men at the border patrol in order to speed up the line. Let’s not make things worse!

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Yesterday morning, I saw a very dramatic photo on Facebook showing President Duterte visiting Jolo to check out the results of the suicide bombing there. What I found remarkable was that the President, in all the dignity of his office was on his knees, kissing the bloodied ground where the suicide bombers blew themselves up and the soldiers around them. I dare say that no President of the Philippines was ever photographed trying to honor the people who died.

Just think that a week ago, no less than Vice President Leni Robredo addressed the nation as if she were already getting ready to take over the job as President because the Yellowtards, on so many social media outlets, were spinning the fake news that the President was sick and that the photos he had sent was photoshopped. Well, show the Yellowtards these very recent photos of our very sick President in Jolo on his knees kissing the ground to honor those who perished in that suicide bombing. That photo of the President gives many of his supporters a huge hope that he would last his tenure.

President Digong may not be a perfect president. He has many flaws. However, not a single president has his compassion and humility to be able to handle such a delicate situation like what happened in Jolo a week ago. That photo was a bit shocking to many, as they did not expect the President to be doing that. It reminded me of Holy Thursday when the Lord Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, which they did not understand but later understood that to be a good leader, you have to be a good servant.

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Yesterday was Araw ng Kagitingan or National Heroes’ Day. The country does not only honor those who fought for the nation’s freedom but also the heroism of the people “who risk their lives fighting a different kind of enemy,” as enunciated by President Duterte last Monday. Indeed, government officials lauded the Filipinos or the so-called frontliners who put their lives on the line in order to provide medical care and essential services to the people as the country continues to battle the COVID-19 virus.

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