"COVID19, Neo-liberal policies and Chinese Imperialism"

"COVID19, Neo-liberal policies and Chinese Imperialism"

By Prof. Edberto Malvar Villegas

Background:

Originally posted in social media site Facebook, this article made some months ago was presented in two parts and given in three posts: The first part covers "COVID19 in the Phillippines", "The Imperialist Neo-Liberal Policies of the IMF-WB-WTO", and the "The Neo-Liberal Policies and US Overproduction". The second part comprises "The Emergence of Chinese Imperialism", "China's AIIB", "China's Debt Trap", "The US-China Rivalry and COVID19" and the "Conclusion". 

While the rapid spread of COVID19 in the Philippines is due to its poor health system because of the policies of the IMF-WB, the virus was directly caused by the easy entry of Chinese nationals into the country due to the too open accommodation of the Duterte's adminstration of Chinese imperialism.

I

COVID19 in the Philippines

The COVID19 pandemic has put into full light the long neglect of the Philippine government of its health system because of its strict adherence to the neo-liberal policies of deregulation and privatization initiated by the Group of 7 capitalist nations, led by the US, in the developing countries, starting in the latter 1970's, Private hospitals in the Philippines, which purchase their  drugs and other medical  supplies from the foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) have continuously increased their prices, as the government has abided by the deregulation policy. Hospitalization for an ordinary Filipino worker costs three months or more of his monthly wages. Even government hospitals like PGH, because of government low priority for health, have hiked   their fees and reduced the number of their free patients to still remain viable. Further, the Duterte government is planning to privatize 33 out of 72 government hospitals like the National Orthopedic, the National Center for Mental Health, the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center, Dr. Jesus Fabella Maternity Hospital and others. (InquirerNet) These policies of deregulation of prices and eventual privatization of public hospitals have compromised the quality of health services extended to the general public so that  when Covid 19 came roaring into our shores, brought by Chinese tourists, there was a dire lack of PPE (personal protective equipment) like face masks and shields, long sleeve gowns, gloves and respirators for health workers. Ventilators and hospital beds for COVID19 patients were inadequate. Testing for the virus was also very limited so that people may not  even be aware that their neighbor is already Covid positive. 

The Philippines due to its unprepared health system coupled with the gross incompetence of  Duterte  has become no. 1 by April 15, 2020 with COVID positive people in Southeast Asia with 5,222 cases and 335 deaths followed by Malaysia with 4,917 cases and 77 deaths. (Statista) The martial-law like implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), only in the Philippines, has added more sufferings to the inhabitants of Luzon apart from the high costs of hospitalization if they catch the virus. 

The low regard of the Philippine government for the health of its people compared to its payment of foreign debts is shown by the constant decrease of its health budget through the years. For example, from 2016 to 2020, the health budget declined by 11% from P113 billion to P101 billion. (DOH  website) The DOH measly P101 billion in the 2020 national budget is far below that of the payment for interest alone for foreign and local debts of P451 billion and the budget for the Armed Forces at P192 billion in the same year.(2020 national budget) In the Philippines there is only 1 doctor to every 33,000 Filipinos when the required ratio should be 1  to 1000 and it is worse for the no. of nurses at 1 to 50,000. Thousands of Filipino nurses and doctors go abroad to work since there is a lack of job opportunities in the country and salaries are very low. This is why 6 out of 10 Filipinos die without seeing a doctor. (Ibon) Philhealth, which seeks to lower the costs of hospitalization,has been mired in corruption and some have even called for its abolition.

Private hospitals cannot be relied upon to meet the growing health needs of Fillpinos because their expertise are concentrated on the sickness of the rich like cancer and heart diseases and give less priority to contagious diseases like the COVID19 pandemic which hit the poor the most. Infectious diseases fall under the category of public health concerns which government hospitals are supposed to be more expected to address. Private hospitals exist primarily to profit from the sick after all and not for public service. The inequity of Philippine society has come to the fore because of the Covid pandemic with more poor dying from it than the rich.This is further exacerbated because the costs of medicines in the  Philippines are also the highest in Southeast Asia, benefiting the foreign pharmaceutical MNCs like Pfizer, Wyeth, Sanofi Aventis and Abbot that dominate the drug industry in the country. 

The Neo-Liberal Policies of the IMF-WB-WTO

The reason why the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the implementers of neo-liberal policies in the Philippines,have demanded privatization and deregulation in the country's health system is that these financial institutions, both dominated by US capital, want the government to prioritize the payments of foreign debts obtained from the Group of 7 nations. The priority for the defrayment of   debts has been made legal by PD 1177, an obsolete law passed during the martial law regime of Marcos which should have long been abolished after EDSA I. This law allows the automatic appropriation  for  debts in the national budget so that if our debts grow so huge, there may be 0 budget left for health and other social services like education and social welfare..This is  why the government, in order to meet its debt obligations,  has also  squeezed more taxes like Train 1 and 2 (VATs required by the IMF-WB) from the masses since the rich has preferential treatment for decrease in taxes from the Duterte regime.  

       

Among all nations, the Philippines has been the most obedient client of the IMF(the Fund) with 34 stand-by agreements with this institution (completed in 2002). The debts of the Philippines from the IMF-WB consortium has resulted in the high foreign debts of the country, reaching $83.7 billion at present (2020), which still includes the debts stolen by Marcos and his family and new loans from Chinese banks (to be discussed later) The Duterte government has borrowed the greatest percentage of our foreign debts during only its four years in office. (Ibon) 

     

Accompanying the stand-by agreements with the Fund are the structural adjustment programs (SAPs) dictated by the WB (the Bank) as conditions for  new loans from it and the Fund and from their bank clubs, called the London club and the Paris club. Capitalist banks need to acquire profits from their surplus capital and those of their big depositors, the industrial and commercial capitalists, and they do this by lending this capital to other nations, particularly in the Third World for it to earn  interests instead of just lying idle. Loans of surplus capital, particularly to other sovereign nations, also aid the capitalist countries to  offset the falling rate of profit due to overproduction in the firms of the industrial capitalists.(to be discussed below).  And the IMF-WB, their protector, make sure that those who borrow this surplus capital from capitalist banks and their investors will pay their debts on time. Thus, the stand-by agreements of the Fund and the SAPs of the Bank.The tie-up between the financial capitalists who own banks and other financial institutions with the industrial capitalists(commercial capitalists sell the goods of the industrial capitalists)  is what constitutes the "financial oligarchy" or monopoly capitalism(imperialism).

     

The WB various SAPs covered industry, the energy sector, the financial sector and agriculture. The main thrust of these SAPs is trade liberalization in developing countries, aside from its policies of privatization and deregulation. Trade liberalization of goods was more fervidly pushed after the long-delayed founding of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. WTO became the third member of the capitalist triad, apart from the Fund and the Bank. The Philippine Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) in 1996 with the WTO has become the most oppressive of all the country's trade agreements with the capitalist nations, killing local agriculture particularly the planting of staple crops of rice and corn, and pauperizing millions of Filipino peasants and farm workers. The capitalist nations, particularly the US, were dumping their surplus agricultural products on the Philippines to avoid overproduction. The increasing importation of rice by the country demanded by AoA eventually made the Philippines to become the no. 1 importer of this crop in the world  by early 2000 in spite of its very fertile soil. There was extensive land conversions accompanying the AoA, favoring the compradore bourgeoisie in the real-estate business, like the Villars and the Ayalas, because agricultural lands were being turned into subdivisions and leisure places for the rich like golf courses and high-class resorts.

The Neo-liberal Policies and US Overproduction

The neo-liberal policies, particularly trade liberalization, were adopted by the capitalist triad due to the growing crisis of overproduction of goods of US monopoly capitalism or imperialism, which started to manifest itself again in the middle of the 1970's after a lull of 25 years.(Brenner, 1998) After the war periods which ended in 1976, comprising World War II, the Korean and the Vietnam wars, the rate of profits of US corporations were falling by a worrying 40% caused by overproduction of goods as production for wars has ceased. It is always profitable for the US military industrial complex (MIC) or the American monopoly capitalists to have wars in the world so that they can sell their war materiel to the US government which cost so high. It is to be noted that during the US war with Iraq in 2003, the American economy grew by 4.3%, the highest after the lull and never attained since then. After hot war periods (the US MIC's profit from the cold war with the USSR was less compared to the hot wars), in order to offset the continuing decline in their rates of profits, more and more US corporations and even other foreign corporations were turning to the financial market, particularly the stock market to sell and buy  stocks and other financial papers,for their surplus capital to earn profits through credits. This is the reason why after hot wars, bubble economies grow and burst, victimizing ordinary people who also buy the stocks of the capitalists. The worst of such bursting after the 1929  Great Depression in the US caused by a plunge of stock values in Wall St. was the financial crisis of 2008, which also originated in Wall St., the center of world capitalist activities.

     

The growing poverty in the developing countries, which includes the Philippines, manifested, among other social factors, by the inaccessibility of the poor to affordable health care is due to the imperialist neo-liberal policies implemented by the IMF-WB. (from Adjustments Effects on Child Welfare, Cornia, 1990)  In truth, there has long been a pandemic of poverty among the lower echelons of society in the developing countries as shown by the fact that in the Philippines alone, 85 children  on the average die every day due to malnourishment, (31,000/year), higher than from any contagious disease that has visited the country.(Save the Children. org) This is a foregone conclusion since the SAPs affecting the health systems and other aspects of society and  the payments of their foreign debts cause the client state of the Group of 7 to suffer budget deficits and they are made to raise more taxes to continue paying their debts and to balance their budgets. The IMF stand- by agreements. are euphemistically called by the IMF-WB "stabilization programs" to attain supposedly stable economic fundamentals, meaning for governments to balance their budgets with savings to boot, the latter of course adding to the defrayment of foreign debts.

II

China's Debt Trap

     

The Philippines, which is an original founder of the AIIB and is a participant in the Belt and Silk Road initiative, has borrowed from the bank the amount of $217 million for development of infrastructures in the NCR. Duterte has also borrowed from the Chinese government-owned Eximbank, which will finance 19 of his 75 projects under his vaunted Build-Build-Build (BBB) program, which includes a P4.37 billion loan for the Chico dam and P12.2 billion for the Kaliwa dam. It is to be noted that out of the BBB 75 projects, only 9 are barely starting and it is the last lap of Duterte's term. Where are all the borrowed money from China, with its high interest of 2% per annum, 10 times higher than Japanese loans? It may be just lying idle in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or being used elsewhere than its intended purpose.

       

We fear that the Philippines will just fall into another debt trap with China as it has with loans from the IMF and WB. Zambia, Djibouti, Guyana, Pakistan and Sri-Lanka are already in the deadly grip of such Chinese debt traps with Sri-Lanka having to give up its Hambantota port in its southernmost part to defray unpaid loans from Chlna. The acquisition of Hambantota was accomplished through the help of a $8 million bribe the Chinese extended to Sri-Lanka president Rajapaska to support his presidential campaign. (New York Times, April 20, 2019) Actually, China Construction Company, the parent company of China Harbor which constructed the Hambantota port, using Chinese workers, was banned by the WB from participating in  the biddings for the Bank's projects for 8 years due to corrupt practices in the Philippines. (Forbes, op. cit.)

     

China has insidiously inserted in its loan contracts with other countries a provision which specifies that  in case of a default on its loans, a country must give up its immunity of sovereign rights and forfeit property, which  could include land and sea. This is found in the contract for the Philippine loan for the Kaliwa Dam in Article 8.1(Waiver of immunity). Such onerous provision has also been included in China's loan contracts with other developing countries like Guyana, Zambia and Kyrgystan (Rappler, Made in China, 2019) Workers in Kitwi, Zambia, have protested such odious condition, rioting and battling police and attacking  Chinese shops, when they found out that their government-owned timber company, ZAFFICO, will be turned over to China since their political leaders could not pay a loan to Beijing. They were afraid that they will be replaced by Chinese  workers as Chinese investors are wont to do in countries where they operate. Beijing. confronted with such violent reactions to its planned acquisition of ZAFFICO, restructured the loan. (Forbes, ibid.) 

     

China's "debt diplomacy" is a military as well as an economic strategy in its  fierce  competition with the US to control vital sea and land routes. China has docked its submarines at Hambatota port in Sri-Lanka since it is located in a  strategic area near the Suez Canal where thousands of ships, including 4,500 oil tankers pass by annually. Beijing has also already installed military facilities in the Spratly Group of islands in the West Philippine  Sea (South China sea to Beijing) as its route is traversed by 50% of world trade yearly. . The weak Philippine Rodrigo Duterte has accommodated, in fact acceded to China's takeover of the Spratly islands, even though they lie within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, whose claim to the area was  upheld by the UN arbitral tribunal at the Hague in 2016. Duterte refuses to assert  the Philippines's sovereign rights to Spratlys, claiming China will declare war on his country if he did. What a deriliction of duty!  He should resign or be booted out from power if he is such a wimp of a president that he cannot even defend the. integrity of the country. China consequently warned US ships from patrolling in the  vicinity of the Spratly's Groups of islands, insisting they lie within its territorial jurisdiction.

US and China's Rivalry and Covid 19

      

The deadlock struggle of US and China to control global  trade has even led them of accusing each other of creating COVID19 in the other's respective laboratory for biological warfare. US military scientists say that COVID19 is a man-made combination of viruses obtained from bats and pangolins which accidentally leaked out from a lab in Wuhan, China, due to faulty handling. They debunked China's claim that the virus came from bats in a wet-market in Wuhan as a cover-up since there are no bats for sale in that market. The lab concerned is  only several blocks away from the market. Chinese officials fired back that  the virus came from a lab in Fort Derrick, US, and  was brought to China by American soldiers during a military sports competition in Wuhan in October, 2019, (Read the arguments of both sides which are replete in the internet and decide for yourself.) Be that as it may, whether COVID19 originated from a Chinese or American lab for biological warfare, its effect on the world has been devastating with hundreds of thousands dying from it. The deadly activities of the imperialist powers to prepare for war against each other by creating dangerous viruses in their labs  should be condemned by the UN and  an investigation started by this body on the real origin of this world pandemic after we have passed through it. 

      

The quarrel between American and Chinese imperialists is also adversely affecting the job security of US workers caused by the raising of tariffs by the Trump government on goods coming from China, leading to the rising ;of production costs in American firms and the retrenchment of workers. (In the US, it is to be noted that the top 1/10 of 1% of Americans own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%, according to erstwhile candidate for US president, Senator Bernie Sanders, based on the findings of his research team..) We do not know the effects of the US-China trade war in Chinese factories, since Xi Jinping's government is very secretive regarding the going-on in his society.

Conclusion

      

We will survive this COVID pandemic, but there is still a heavy responsibility facing  all of us. 

US monopoly capitalism (imperialism) and its rival, China, with its equally rapacious imperialism, are causing the Filipino masses and other peoples of the world to be  impoverished, while their leaders subservient to the imperialists wallow in wealth and power. Indeed, imperialism with its predatory activities and its contradictions, primarily its warlike nature using the masses as cannon fodder, is the scourge of humankind. Imperialism must be finally expunged from the face of the earth in order to uphold the well-being of the exploited classes, the wretched of societies, and to prevent the destruction of our planet caused by  capitalist greed. A new generation of socially-dedicated and unselfish individuals, coming from a united front led by the enlightened working classes with their allies, both national and international, must arise to finally dismantle the dominance  of those whose  main concern is to plunder for profit no matter the costs.

A new world order must be built to advance first and foremost the welfare ot the majority classes and zealously guard the rights of all persons. History is calling each of us to be counted in this new generation and contribute what we can to accomplish this great task for the salvation of our species and our mother earth. 

"Of using the Pandemic for an Orderist tendency"

"Of using the Pandemic for an Orderist tendency"

(Or: how the regime uses the Pandemic crisis
as pretext to broaden its rule, step up repressive policies)

As in the past, the order continues to broaden its rule using the pandemic as its situation.

That despite inadequate and inefficient measures the order still retains its crookedness such as in times of massive death and general uncertainty. It is unsurprising for no matter he recognise the efforts, of promising the folk of greater care, this doesn't mean he will give up his arrogance but rather utilising this kind of scenario to further consolidate and even extend this rotten rule while the rest as trying to battle both this pandemic threat and the imminent risk of poverty, unemployment, and hunger. 

What more that along with sanctioned legal maneuvers and increasing militarisation both in cities and in the countryside the regime is all but "business as usual", but this time it "has to be maximised by the fullest extent" be it "flatten the curve" or the much obvious "restoring peace and order". 

However, on the whole, the Philippines continues to suffer from the issues brought about by the order. No matter how the order tries to mitigate, its statements and its actions spoil the "efforts" or making the scenario an opportunity to push through their agenda whether to "flatten the curve", "restore peace and order", or "promote development.

For as the folk awaits changes in strategy to control this pandemic situation, plots and maneuvers in the bureaucracy ran aplenty such as "efforts to amend the constitution" to those of toying the idea to enforce martial law particularly on the basis of supposed "lawlessness" and "rebellion." The latter, despite being old news, continues to be a major issue for the order no matter it lacks in details yet still an alibi for the order "to save face" amidst an already embarrassing minsmanagement while grabbing more power for himself. It became pretext to step up military attacks in the countryside, police action in the cities, and a myriad of threats towards the opposition whether in actual or in social media. 

And to think that the order continues to rob the people of public funds by not channeling the presidential budget to health, social services, and in the sciences his "militarised" solution of lock downs has deprived the folk of incomes, means of livelihood, food, and public transport to any medical facility or their place of employment. Furthermore, the regime has not fulfilled the promise of providing food assistance to 18 million families, social compensation for wages lost, mass testing and treatment of patients for Covid-19 and other illnesses, and adequate compensation and protective gear for the health workers. The folk had to depend on charity from the private sector including those who take opportunity to make profits in connivance with state authorities.

But regardless of their statements and actions, the regime has no real intent to fight this pandemic but to advance its orderist agenda. For as in the past statements, having a regime crazed by power and greed has well-exposed its malice and evil character. That with his political allies in one hand and attack dogs on the other, this scheme of repression and disenfranchisement intensifies regardless of their denials and blamegames. 

This scheme somehow will continue with or without this pandemic; and that the Filipino folk will bear in their collective memory the months of Duterte's complacency and its ill consequences. But despite this negligence, and the myriad of attacks on human and civil rights of the folk the folk themselves will fight back all for accountability and justice. 

"No threat can hinder the solidarity of the folk!"

"No threat can hinder the solidarity of the folk!"

As in the past, the recent statements brought by president Duterte is all but wanting to upheld the ever-continuing order instead of immediately supporting the needs of the people.

For as the Coronavirus has exposed the rottenness of the present social order in which the government favours its inner circle while the rest of the nation is left to fend off for themselves, the government's failure to resolve the medical crisis has made the matter quickly escalated into a catastrophe affecting the lives and livelihoods especially those of the poor instead of ensuring their medical and overall wellbeing.

What more to think that the administration rather chose to vent rage on the opposition, be it the left or individuals like Diokno or Trillanes, this shows how its leader and its apologists fail to admit and correct its mistake in handling the situation- much similar to misleadingly alluding poverty to laziness while seeing interest seekers using the situation to ever-prevail their interests. From this somehow finds it difficult on how to control the virus and instead aggravating it.

Worse, to hear such unreasonable line of thinking alternates with threats to use violence, toying with Martial Rule for instance, against those who would disobey Duterte's orders.

But this doesn't stop the people from getting worried about. Many families suffer hunger, anxiety, and uncertainty as the order's task force fails to create a sound policy. Yes the community quarantine is still ongoing according to their statements, but it has nor realigned enough funds to build new facilities, support frontliners, set up factories to produce equipment for protection, mass screening, and testing. But instead pinpointing the opposition for all the woes.

Meanwhile his lackeys continue to express hope that China may still support its effort in curbing COVID19, even borrowing more money from international lending agencies, and relying largely on corporate support, charity from private citizens when there is already 275 billion allocated from the "Bayanihan to Heal as One" act, not to mention the existing funds from the Office of the President itself. Unjust delays in the so-called "Social Amelioration Program" also exposes reluctance from the order to provide immediate relief while prioritising funding to increase "hazard pay" for both police and military personnel. The recent statement of offering millions to those who able to create vaccine to combat COVID19 also showed its mercenary-like treatment of handling the situation, while failing to assemble experts from the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Health, Bureau of Food and Drugs, and known Pharmaceutical Companies all to create a sound program to help the struggling health sector, much more that the supposed "action program" being bragged about all remains in paper.

All in all, for almost four months into the pandemic, the regime's measures continue to remain half-baked while largely retaining its militarist nature. The regime, no matter how it appears itself as "concerning" given the situation, still finds its time and effort to use its attack dogs with the purpose of destroying dissent, be it in a form of false reports to those of combat operations. With the unbounded emergency powers that the Congress has given to him, he use it rather to make excuse for his orderist agenda, of making miserable excuses, pinpointing, and dictatorial manouvres while being inefficient and incompetent in ensuring sound medical and social services to the folk.

From this note, one would say that the statements ever brought by Duterte remains the same. With or without the pandemic the agenda of the administration remains orderist in outlook while acting vassal-like towards International interests. China will always continue its foothold in the disputed isles in the West Philippine Sea, coupled with existing unequal agreements including those from the United States. The order will always continue its debt-driven policy while trying to impress the folk that development is still undergoing.

And that by refusing to heed the demand of the folk, what more of repressing them by "just obey" dogma and its myriad of threats, the folk themselves, both having the fear of the pandemic and the desperation to live and earn a living, continues to fight by any means. Words like "immediate and sufficient social support" has been overheard no matter the order tries to suppress their calls, that mutual aid from various groups cultivated solidarity in spite of attempts to curb their movement by the order, that "seeking truth from facts" has pursued, exposing and opposing how the administration has been acting against its people no matter how its apologists as trying to control its situation.

Regardless if the threat, be it the pandemic or the order's repetitive threats, the folk will not yield. No threat will cower the solidarity of the folk.

"When will this pandemic-driven braggadocio stop?"

"When will this pandemic-driven braggadocio stop?"

Over the past weeks, the Duterte regime has embarked a PR campaign regarding this Corona Virus-driven onslaught. 

By mounting one publicity stunt after another, the regime seem to show how "successful" its action in "controlling the spread of this pandemic", while failing to procure the necessary needs especially for frontliners and the reluctance to carry out testing on a massive scale to determine the actual extent of the spread.

It is also from their statements that the regime caims that the Philippines as one of the lowest incidence of NCOV19 infection in Asia, when in fact thousands remain infected by this pandemic which stretches the national health system into its limits.

Obviously, the statements are meant to placate and pacify the folk in the face of growing concern, if not an outright discontent brought by the "Enhanced Community Quarantine" nor its failure to extend social assistance, or even its initial rants towards the opposition and its concern-driven acts.
What more in carrying out its amelioriation program as rather driven by popular compulsion. It came too little, too late as it promises to provide financial assistance to the folk. The assistance, however, cannot cover the rising cost of living especially in this extended lockdown. Worse, to see reports of zero assistance in the countryside with peasants suffered after preventing them from selling their agricultural produce resulting in financial losses and spoilage of much needed food in the urban areas. This problem, along with existing agrarian issues like oppressive land rents, low farm wages, and forced dislocations aggravated the peasant situation even in this time of pandemic crisis.

But despite these acts this doesn't stop the people from getting concerned be it the accuracy of the report or how the regime has treated its constituents. They are not appeased by the sugar-coated sentiments as they have been without work and depending on limited assistance, but instead, rising criticisms over the meagre anount alloted by the regime been overheard after Duterte plays a different tune "worrying" where to get money for the needed assistance.

The daily cost of food and other necessities have eaten up their meager savings, while Local Government Units, Churches, and some concerned private individuals are calling for much needed support to sustain individuals, families, and communities.

For sure apologists would continue to cling in the promises their idol stated for  days especially as criticism intensifies. They would justify furher police actions while failing to speak on the growing need for mass testing, what more of condoning realignments in the national budget, favouring tourism and infrastructure projects to appease international funders; or keeping defence, and the intelligence budgets bloated rather than reallocate towards health and social welfare. This obvious indifference, as shown by temporary facilities, lack of equipment and necessary improvements, as well as the much needed salary increases for health workers would say that the regime has long neglected these concerned folk, placing the national health system at risk while praising them hypocritically as "heroes". 

To cut this note short, that in the face of aggravating crisis, the Filipino folk chose to seek truth from facts rather than appeased by the claims brought about by the order; what more that these folks themselves, having enough of the imposed situation and the braggadocio shown in the television screens and in social media sites are willing to raise their voices in indignation all despite various threats to have them arrested or shot dead.

"Keeping the Faith by Fighting Back"

"Keeping the Faith by Fighting Back"

(Or "Thoughts after Lent in a time of Pandemic-driven crisis
and the faithful's will to fight back 

Last Ash Wednesday, people from all walks of life arrived to commemorate that solemn occasion marking the start of lent. And from the gospel text of St. Matthew it stated that the Lord instructed everyone the need for abstinence, charity, and prayer. It is also on that occasion wherein everyone marks a time to reflect, thinking about something that's beyond this earthly presence. 

However, this 2020 things have changed. With the pandemic brought by COVID19 affected the order the way churches ought to sprinkle ashes in heads instead of the traditional marking at their foreheads; what more that the same crowded parishes end empty with  the folk depending on social media or television to watch the order of the mass as Eucharistic liturgies being suspended until the celebration of Easter. 

But despite this a concerned folk tries to keep their faith deeper in mind and heart in a time concerns drive them to think harder. For sure not all even have a job as businesses close, nor having the privilege to "work at home" the way some companies provided to its employees in this time of crisis; and governments as much as possible been trying their best all to "ensure the welfare of the people by any means" from financial assistances to stimulus packages for companies.

However, in the Philippines, this pandemic-droven crisis seems to be aggravate existing tensions. That after listening to the president threaten most of the time especially to the desperate and the hungry, would say that as Christians, care and compassion is what needed most.

For in a time of pandemic-driven socioeconomic peril and its downturn in public morale, to see an order that's feigning mercy and compassion, what more of venting threat is simply more like struggling to maintain its foothold as people becoming concerned of its negative effect. For sure ad recent statements shown in television, print, and in social media sites these has made the folk worry, angry, or even both as the order fails to provide sound solutions such as those expressed by the folk themselves. That channeling the intelligence budget to health and social services particularly the need for PPEs and necessary equipment been disregarded by the order who tries to appease the people with press releases if  not outrightly accuse them of "disturbing the peace".

And that accusation has been coupled with violent reprisals such as the incident in Sitio San Roque in Quezon City. The folks affected by this pandemic-driven crisis had to go out to demand for inmediate relief such as food, and it takes extreme conditions such hunger to brave the threat of COVID19. 

It is not a manifestation of indiscipline nor being uncooperatice to the authorities, but the action taken by the folks is their desperate measure to call out the government that the people are hungry, but instead of listening to their woes, truncheons and prison bars as its immediate response. With this kind of incident would say that it showethba painful reminder that the poor folk always suffer in every crisis. Apologists of the order may treat them with scorn two and fro, but again, these folks have been long struggling even before the pandemic.

But despite these series of events, the fact that the Lord continues to provide hope and showeth concern in every prayer and action, that everyone pursues further seeking truth from facts, of solidarity amongst individuals and communities, and urging others to engage  creates something that the order can't do to its subjects. In this would somehow also makes the folk fight back with their faith and a view in their backs against threats so as to assert further a more just society in the spirit of the beatitudes.

"Still, this doesn't stop from concerning-or protesting"

"Still, this doesn't stop from concerning-or protesting"

(Or: All after Duterte's late night show)

It seems that the recent statements brought by Duterte during late evening shows how the system through its leader is mortally afraid of an ever concerned folk.

Be it by the recent threat to shoot people in the streets demanding relief or his angst towards the Left and the lawyer Diokno, these shows a vain attempt the order's failure to address the urgent public health and socioeconomic crisis and instead resort to the use of military and police power as a sole solution.

And to think that his statements bear contradictions despite days after his congress granted him emergency powers, the folk, including those who supported him, realised a "boss" who rather desperate to "free himself" from blame while failing to do the expected duty of ensuring the people's welfare. For sure once he said about letting Local Government officials to "be creative" while venting rage on Pasig's Vico Sotto for his "concern-driven" actions; what more that he blamed the left for instigating protest against him-no matter how legit the grievance the protesters were such as the need for immediate relief.

But despite these this doesn't stop the folk from getting concerned further. In a regime that claims to be having "prepared", local government officials continues to remain desperate in mobilising scant resources to address the needs of their constituents- only to be denounced by a contemptuous president as these officials seriously need the necessary assistance.
Or is he favouring those who supported him while detesting those who are against his wishes? Unsurprising, that from an ever concerned government official to the commoner who's badly in need for relief if not an assistance, what Duterte sees is plain simple opposition conspiring to oust him, hence from mere blaming in social media to an outright arrest and detaining the people lies a sign how this present order, being desperate to cling to its position, as "mortally afraid of the people."

The folk, ever becoming concerned in this public health turned socio-economic matter is quickly acquiring a political one. This restiveness would say has made the order, through Duterte and his camarilla inciting these folks to take a challenge. No matter how apologists trying to put them down this doesn't stop them from expressing their utter disgust to the regime and its inconveniences be it how Duterte making fuss with Diokno, the left, or anyone who stood in his way, be it in social media or in the streets.

Their collective outrage would say has bound to come together by any means, and despite every measure the order imposes this doesn't stop from ever growing, of making them raise voices more and willing to fight as possible-even in this time of virus-induced crisis.