Forever: COVID in the Philippines

Way back in 2020, in almost sci-fi proportions, the earth stood still. Life as we became accustomed to suddenly stopped due to the spread of COVID 19. Schools and offices closed and our economy went to an almost steady halt. Large portions of our population were infected and the government made what they though as necessary restrictions.

Fast forward to the present day; nothing has really changed. Yes, the government has relaxed its stranglehold a little and most of the population has been vaccinated, COVID is still very much present in our daily lives. We still have to wear facemasks and new variants of the virus are emerging more and more each day. This has led to lockdown after lockdown and restriction after restriction. Local and regional governments have even made questionable decisions that could even be considered as ultra vires and even unconstitutional. However, such is for the courts to decide and perhaps for the public to scrutinize. After all, this is an editorial, not a legal analysis article.

Election season is fast approaching with candidates know displaying their respective platforms of government and lack thereof. One point of discussion should be the candidates’ proposals to end the possibility of another rise in COVID cases and their suggested plans to return our country to a degree of normalcy both socially and economically in the midst of the pandemic. One thing to fear is that after the election has been won and the campaign curtains close and the pandemic will still be here despite all efforts by the new administration, almost leading us to think that COVID is forever.