A matter of interpretation

Since I’m writing this article on April 22/ Wednesday, I have no way of knowing what President Duterte will and has decided to choose with regards to the Enhanced Community Quarantine. Whatever he decided on, what remains clear is that with or without a community quarantine, majority of us will be making a conscious effort to maintain physical distancing. I intentionally used the word “physical distancing” because most of us don’t really want to get into “Social Distancing” which is mentally and emotionally unhealthy.

In fact there is now a brewing debate over interpretations and applications of Community Quarantine and Social Distancing. When we started out with the Metro Manila Community Quarantine, the greater majority of us nodded in approval. When the President made it the Luzon-wide Enhanced Community Quarantine, we still agreed to support it not realizing the personal sacrifices it entailed. But after a month and one week into “confinement” people have started to behave as if they have ants in their pants, going stir crazy or going hungry and desperate. To be fair, the situation is worse in “the land of the free and the brave,” Good old USA where pockets of protests have come up. They are not just sunbathing or jogging like some foreigners in BGC, protesters in the US are staging motorcades and protest marches for the lifting of the lockdown.  Most local authorities simply tell us, “No you cannot go out.” In fact some do so believing they are doing it for our good like the momentary ban on senior citizens from going to supermarkets or outdoors. Other officials don’t want to get into trouble with Malacañang or the DILG so their goal is compliance, pure and simple.

Unfortunately, because we are globally connected, Filipinos get to see different parts of the world where people are allowed to jog or run 10 to 15 meters apart, where people can go to the beach to swim and surf, but must observe physical distancing, and where essential workers are allowed to carrying on planting, harvesting and working, all unhampered, unchallenged and not under threat. I just listened to Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano talk about the incident where police officers had entered a condominium complex and told residents to leave the common areas and the swimming pool in view of ECQ and social distancing. Like any human being, Mayor Cayetano uses arguments that support his position such as the definition of quarantine in reference to a “medical quarantine,” and he as I mentioned is one of the many local officials trying do what he believes is good for his residents in Taguig and wants to be compliant with the ECQ of the national government.

But as my column title suggests, certain issues are blurred by “a matter of interpretation.” People living in a gated community, a condominium complex or a barangay in Sampaloc or Tondo are already part of a community. Once the LGU enforces ECQ or total lockdown they are effectively under community quarantine for as long as they don’t go outside their walls or boundaries and assuming none of them are infected. If any of them are sick or symptomatic, the rule is to find them, remove them, isolate them and treat them. Some residents might not approve of people going to the pool or sunbathing or jogging around the common areas so they called in the police, or it could have been a disgruntled employee who complained, but the question is how tough do we have to be on people considering they are confined to a common area, a sitio, a barangay or an island?

I just saw a news feature of 24 OJTs who were stranded in Boracay, stuck in cramped dormitories and were not allowed to walk on the beach or go swimming. I just learned from an interview that locals in Siargao were not allowed to go surfing.  I’ve been hearing some commentators howling against senior citizens walking or jogging around the PICC complex that is several hectares wide! I understand the heart and dedication of the local officials and that they mean well, but is it possible that some of us are taking things too literally or to the extreme?

We’ve all been told by our elders that a little sun and fresh air especially by the beach does wonders when you’re under the weather. We all know that salt water is a great disinfectant, and that exercise is one of the best ways to keep your sanity, boost your immune system, improve your resistance and to stay fit especially if you are elderly. So why should we unilaterally deprive people who are already in the right place or circumstance to make the best of their situation in order to stay healthy and happy.

Some seniors need to do walking because it is the cheapest therapy they know to maintain blood circulation, to avoid deep vein thrombosis, arthritis and depression. Yes DEPRESSION. Senior citizens are probably going to be more conscious and aware about COVID-19 because experts say they are walking targets, so chances are they will be careful. Instead of trying to imprison the rest of Filipinos under literal over-interpretation, why not exert a little mental effort to find ways and means that will help all of us not go stir crazy because under another ECQ it would be sheer laziness and stupidity to use force instead of wisdom. Ask God who gives wisdom graciously so you can be a blessing and not a curse. Let us be creative – not divisive.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger, the tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. The soothing tongue is a tree of life but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. Proverbs 15: 1-4

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