Cemetery defiance

Acting Mayor Michael Rama does not want to call it an act of defiance when he said that the cemeteries of the city will remain open for All Souls’ and All Saints' days. The Department of Interior and Local Government has issued an order to keep these facilities closed as they are potential virus spreaders, as people would gather to pay respects. Rama says he wants the national government to respect their autonomy over the city and that they have made sure that only fully-vaccinated individuals will be allowed entry.

I have seen the city's plan and their measures to keep everything in place for these celebrated days. Needless to say, it has gone through thorough research and consultation with various stakeholders. Then again, it would be up to the national government to grant this request. Either that or their protocol would be replicated for the whole country as well.

In Manila, the cemeteries are flocked to by family members of the bereaved over the weekend. They found the time to visit the graves while the facility will be kept open. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of closing the cemeteries on the said dates? Your guess is as good as mine. It is embedded in our culture that we pay our respects to those who have passed on. In fact, these are the holidays where people go home to spend time with their family. I remember this too clearly, as we practice this in our family as well.

What would be the implication if the acting mayor insists on keeping the cemeteries open? One, he could possibly be the subject of scrutiny of the president or members of the interagency task force. We have seen how Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia was placed in the limelight because of her hesitance to follow national standards. It could repeat itself. Two, he could also receive the people's backlash and this would boomerang on his bid for mayor. The Cebuanos might deem it as a poor decision, thus trust ratings might dip for this time being. Three, they could all be the opposite of the first two reasons stated. We just don't know what lies ahead of us with an administration that is so adamant in going after those who disagree with it.

Then again, the independence of the local governments also exists and we cannot deny that they know the situation better than others do. The only thing to remember is this; we are still in a pandemic. Being classified as Alert Level 2 doesn't mean that we don't run the risk of going into a surge again. We may have kept the cases at a low number but a sudden slip might just change everything in an instant.

The way we act during the holidays next week will define how we get to spend Christmas and New Year’s Day --the two most-awaited holidays for every Filipino. As for me, I can't wait for this pandemic to be over.