This Too Shall Pass! Pero Kailan?

In an interview with Randell Tiongson, Doc Alvin Ang explained that we are where we are because people keep saying, “This too shall pass!” These people believe that COVID 19 will disappear on its own, and when it does, we will be able to go back to how we were before. This mindset has made a lot of us complacent and reckless.

When I heard what Doc Alvin said, nahiya ako, kasi, “This too shall pass!” is one of the messages I keep telling people. However, I do not believe the pandemic will go away on its own. I just trust that someday the world will figure out why this happened and do what is necessary to eliminate the source of the virus.

Unfortunately, instead of understanding why this problem happened and addressing its source, people have been trying to manage it by finding ways to live in a new normal. But they believe a vaccine will allow us to go back to our old ways. I think we are failing to consider na baka our old ways caused this pandemic.

I have said before when we encounter pest problems on our farm; we do not look for chemicals that would kill them. Instead, we ask ourselves why the infestation happened. We look at pests as external manifestations of something we are doing wrong internally. Kasi I have learned that infestations only occur when we create a suitable environment for pest to multiply. So we address the source and not the symptoms.

In our old normal, globalization allowed a few countries to conquer the world through trade. But as they exported their products to smaller countries, they also passed on inferior products and their waste. These wastes carried viruses like Bird Flu, Asian Swine Flu, H1N1, COVID 19, etc. So when travel and import restrictions were imposed, I was happy. I was happy because it corrected some of the flaws of globalization.

I believe that we should feed ourselves. But when importation is an alternative solution to our food production problems, we will stop striving to be self-sufficient. The ability to buy what we need from other countries has robbed us of the opportunity to create and innovate.

In our old normal, people migrated to the big cities, like Metro Manila and Cebu, and abandon their land. Many would even go overseas to find the greener pasture they desire. This migration has left many lands in the provinces unused and wasting. On the other hand, the congestion in the cities has created a suitable environment for rodents, viruses, and other diseases to multiply and spread.

I believe the government will never be able to solve the COVID 19 problem through quarantine. Diba it was the experts who said that social distancing and face mask would only slow down the virus, and not eliminate it. As long as Metro Manila and Cebu are overcrowded, the virus will spread whenever the restrictions are lifted.

I believe that this (pandemic) too shall pass. Pero kailan? It will pass when we address the source of the problem and not just its symptoms. COVID 19 is just a manifestation of the wrong way we have been managing our lives and the world.