Do you know what song comes to my mind whenever I see or hear reports about our President yearning to finish his term and go home to Davao? This will “date” me but it is the famous hit song of Harry Belafonte that echoed from the jukeboxes all over the country, and surely, also abroad, where he repeatedly says “Daylight comes and I want to go home”. Indeed, no matter how famous one becomes in another place, the time will come when the longing for home takes over!
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Yes, that came to me upon hearing President Duterte stressing during an interview that all he was longing for was to finish his term and go home to Davao. And who can blame him? It must have been a great thrill to win the presidency, but he probably never reckoned with all the problems, calamities and, above all, this pandemic – although none of them were of his making. Man-made problems he could have easily dealt with, but who could have predicted that a city in China could produce an ailment that would go the rounds of the globe?
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Not only is he giving up on the idea of reelection, he is also warning his daughter, Sara, now mayor of Davao, and a seasoned politician, too, not to attempt to seek the position. Probably his thinking now is this position is not one you would wish on your worst enemy. Well, there must be dozens of “wannabes” who are eyeing the post, whether they are truly qualified or not. What we need to fear is that the ones standing in line may have other agenda that may not be for the good of our country, but for their own greed for power. May the Lord protect us from such power seekers!
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Well, tomorrow we will mark Independence Day and maybe, our leaders should take a good hard look at how we have been doing and what they have done to improve the lives of our people. That is quite a big order, especially in this time of a serious pandemic that has puzzled even the most brilliant medical people. Well, a vaccine has been introduced and we hope and pray it does the trick, but what is this report again about the discovery of a warehouse storing fake Chinese medicines? Such horrible discoveries make one regret that the death sentence is no longer allowed in our country!
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But the time has not yet come when we can relax a bit as far as the pandemic is concerned. Only yesterday, it was reported that the number of victims in our part of the country, i.e., the Western Visayas, has gone up to about 1,000 cases daily! That, in spite of the vaccinations going on, and with people observing protocols, like the wearing of masks and shields, and avoiding going out, when possible. It is, therefore, clear that the time to relax has not yet come, and do not be ashamed to be described as paranoid when you stick to the rules too much.
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But it is good to know that local malls in our city are allowing their areas to be used for the vaccination of people, some of whom may not know where to go for the shots. That way, more can avail of the treatment even if they did not know earlier where to go for it. Well, it will also be advantageous for the malls, because those getting the shots could also be potential customers. And yes, it is good to know also that our officials are making arrangements to make vaccinations available in as many venues as possible. So those who miss being inoculated will have only themselves to blame in case the virus catches up with them.
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On the lighter side – what about the Olympic Games? I know our country has been preparing for it and our participating teams continuing their training for the competition. I know our athletes are gung-ho in their aspiration to bring home what could be the first-ever gold medal from the competition. Maybe, some countries will prevent their teams to compete? Will that give us a chance to hit a gold? The Philippine Sports Commission has already allotted P46 million for our team. That should inspire them to grab our first gold!
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But it was shocking to hear that Palawan is now in a state of calamity. One would suppose the virus could not easily penetrate it because it is a separated island, and not easily accessible by land. But it seems this virus has its way of reaching out to an area, as it is apparently also very easily transmissible. So the only way we can avoid it is also to avoid contacts with other people, especially those we do not know. And, if at all possible, try and avail yourself of the vaccine against it which, I understand, is now being made available to all provinces, towns and cities.*
