EDITORIAL - Storming the heavens

For the second year in a row, the country is marking Holy Week amid sickness and death. The toll this time has become much worse, with over 10,000 fresh COVID cases recorded in just one day last Monday. A quick end to the scourge is unlikely.

The toll on livelihoods and the economy has been as devastating. As of February, there were 4.2 million unemployed Filipinos, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.  The 8.8 percent rise was higher than the 8.7 percent or four million unemployed in January – an indication that the gradual reopening of the economy has failed to stop the loss or diminution of livelihoods.

Underemployment also went up, with 7.9 million people looking for more work while holding other jobs – a rate of 18.2 percent from the 16 percent or 6.6 million people in January, according to the PSA. The government’s economic managers pointed out that the reopening of more enterprises restored an estimated 1.9 million jobs.

President Duterte himself, however, has admitted that the crisis has brought him close to tears. Addressing the nation at the start of Holy Week, he warned Filipinos to brace for “bleak months” ahead. The National Capital Region and four adjacent provinces have been reverted to the strictest enhanced community quarantine as COVID cases surge, and the ECQ could be extended by another week.

With vaccines in short supply and experts warning that the infection numbers would get worse before they get better due to the ECQ, people are turning to prayer. In this unprecedented crisis, Holy Week is no longer holiday time but a real season for introspection. We assess what matters most in our lives; we contemplate our mortality; we reconnect with our Maker.

In the time of COVID, we also take responsibility for each other’s health, adhering to safety protocols not only to avoid catching the coronavirus but also to avoid infecting others and putting their lives at risk. It’s a time to intensify what spiritual leaders had called for at the start of this pandemic: let us storm the heavens with prayers, hoping for an end to our suffering.