"We have lost and sacrificed so much already."
Pandemic or not, today marks the unofficial start of the Christmas season for many Filipinos—for the plain reason that this new month ends with the syllable “ber.”
In pre-COVID times, this is the time shopping malls put up their holiday decor and start playing Christmas songs.
But given the sustained rise in the number of new cases across the country vis-a-vis the slow and uneven pace of vaccination, it is difficult to imagine resuming our holiday practices soon, much less contemplate what our Christmas would be like. A little less than four months seems like an eternity when most of us seem to live from day to day, waking up and feeling relief that we have not contracted the virus—yet.
Those who have gotten sick or lost loved ones definitely will not be in any jovial mood.
When the vaccination started in March, we were told, and confidently, that we would be able to have a merry Christmas as we would have reached herd immunity —70 percent of the population fully vaccinated—by then. But the following months gave lie to this pronouncement.
Some 13.7 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated, and another 19.3 million have gotten their first dose. This is progress by all means—if only we could get more from the global supply, and sooner. If only the Delta variant were not threatening the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. If only the inoculation drive were accompanied by other serious and well-planned measures for testing, contact tracing and ample support to the healthcare sector.
Still, as making wishes for the holidays is customary, we would like to make a shoutout of the things we wished we have.
Foremost, we want some direction and coherence from our leaders. The conversation has pathetically turned to body weight and hairstyles, when our top decision makers should be making themselves accountable for how the government has responded to the crisis through the judicious use of public funds. Regular addresses to the nation have turned into rambling sessions, without any relevant answers provided by those who should be taking charge.
Second, we want transparency. We were promised efforts to curb corruption. And yet, people close to the powers-that-be are getting exonerated even before they are charged with anything. Those who raise legitimate questions are bullied and discredited from the start. In the meantime, people are dying, and those whose job it is to care for the sick do not even get fair and timely compensation.
Finally, we want an enlightened electorate. We are banking on the significant percentage of young voters in the coming elections to truly make a difference, such that we will no longer vote for self-proclaimed saviors, mavericks and other colorful personalities — just those who will do the job well and with decency.
We continue to hope that things would turn for the better in the coming weeks. We have lost and sacrificed so much already. While Filipinos are known for our grit and resilience, we wish we could one day find reasons to be merry, not in spite of what is happening in our government, but because of it.