Tony's Take: Perspective and Perception
GLIMPSES ON SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES - 5
By Tony A. San Juan (OCT-Retired)
Toronto-Canada
November 5, 2020
Bataan-Cavite Mega Bridge: Last October 20, 2020, the Philippines signed a Php 3-billion contract for the engineering design of the planned 32-km bridge over Manila between the Bataan and Cavite provinces. The detailed design study for the interlink bridge project will be done in the next 15 months, from November 20 to January 2022.
The planned bridge with 2 lanes in each direction will be built across Manila Bay, which will connect Brgy. Alas-asin in Mariveles, Bataan to Brgy. Timalan, Naic, Cavite, according to the Dept. of Public Works & Highways. The project will "provide a permanent road linkage between the two provinces in order to reduce the travel time to around 30 minutes from 5 hours at present and ease traffic congestion through Metro Manila”, said Public Works Secretary Mark Villar. It would also support the development of seaports in Cavite and Bataan as premier international shipping gateways to the country. If constructed, the Bataan-Cavite bridge will be the largest and longest bridge in the country. The planned bridge is composed of land, marine, and approach viaducts, and channel bridges viaducts between Bataan and Cavite. "Kailan kaya ito pasisimulang gagawin at umpisahang magagamit at madada-anan talaga? Sa loob ng sampu o labing-limang taon? Sana ay abutin ko pa ito, ano?"
Christmas Parties Banned: Mayors of Metro Manila, as a precaution against the coronavirus crisis, have agreed on October 19, 2020, to ban Christmas parties in the capital region. However, the mayors agreed to allow churches to open at 30% capacity as the Christmas season approaches."But Christmas parties are really banned. Christmas parties will not be allowed while our situation is like this", according to the pandemic Inter-Agency Task Force( IATF). It was also reported that local government units support the reopening of the economy. Metro Manila mayors, except Navotas City, have adjusted curfew hours from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. to attend "Simbang Gabi"(pre-dawn masses). Persons aged 18 to 65 years old will also be allowed to go outside in areas under General Community Quarantine(GCQ). In areas under MGCQ- Modified General Community quarantine, individuals aged 15 to 65 years will be allowed to go outside of their homes. In a reported emerging consensus, Metro Manila mayors earlier recommended extending the GCQ period in the capital region until the end of the year. "Paano na ngayon, parang wala ng kahalagahan ang Pasko ng Pinoy. Wala na kayang "Pasko po Ninong. Pasko po Ninang, kami po ay namamasko !!!
Christianity Quincentennial Commemoration . The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines(CBCP), last month, has decided to postpone and adjust the 5th Centenary Celebration “of 500 years of Christianity in the country” this year and have to start the commemoration in April 2021 and to conclude in 2022 instead of the original 2021" due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The year 2021 is technically the commemoration only of the first Mass in Limasawa Island, Southern Leyte on Easter Sunday on March 31, 1521, and the baptisms on April 14, 1521, so the “500 years of Christianity” is misleading, according to CBCP. The “5th Centenary commemoration of the First Mass in Cebu” is more exact. Historically, the Philippines as a country did not exist yet at the time. Using “500 years of Christianity” is also misleading, because the "purpose of Magellan’s voyage was not for evangelization, but to find a new route for commerce and trade. He had only one priest on board, who returned to Spain after Magellan was killed. Nobody was left behind to continue the "Christian formation of the natives for 43 years, until the coming of Legazpi and the Augustinians in 1565, when evangelization began." According to one Filipino priest, the "purpose of the early expeditions was to find gold, silver, and spices.
It was only after the Council of Trent (1545-1564), held primarily "to check the spread of Protestantism by defining dogmatically the doctrines attacked by the Protestants and to reform the discipline of the Church, that evangelization and missions were added to make up for the loss of Catholics in Europe to Protestantism. After the Council of Trent, the aims of the expeditions became “God, gold, and glory.” It is generally desirable that the celebration should be inclusive and should include an affirmation of all the other influences that came before 1521, from Islam and the surrounding countries like India and China that contributed to our languages, worldview, and culture in ways we have not appreciated enough in the past.
Moreover, the extension of the celebration to 2022, "can give Filipinos not only more time but also make the event more inclusive and more universal, in the spirit given by Pope Francis in “Fratelli Tutti,” of opening our minds and hearts to the generosity and goodness of God who sent his Son to save all and to enrich our human experience with the realization that we are all one family, brothers, and sisters." "Ipagdasal natin lagi na sana ang ating mahal na Panginoon ay bigyan at gabayan tayo sa matahimik , mabilis at maayos na pag-galing, pag-kakaisa, at pag-asa!"
Confidence Recovery: It is a sorry state that the coronavirus pandemic has badly impacted many Filipinos. The crisis has rendered many "kababayans" out of jobs or underemployed and there's no assurance at these uncertain times on when their income might come back. This reduced purchasing power is compounded by fears of COVID-19 surge and dangerous infection. People are not buying a lot of stuff, are not eating out, are not traveling, or even getting a vanity beauty treatment,and many other consumer-driven economic-growth activities. Many businesses, small and medium-based, remained closed. Maybe with the Christmas season nears, the Philippines would hope for a resumption of consumption- and-purchasing actions.
The challenge thus is to restore confidence among Filipino consumers to recover their buying power. But how and when? Characteristically, Filipinos do not need a lot of encouragement and incentives to shop and buy Christmas goods. It is a belief that typically many Filipinos spend money as soon as it is in their hands. Therefore, it is highly necessary for the government to enhance pandemic testing, ease out rigid restrictions, and assist businesses to better advantage. "Hanggang wala pang gamot ( bakuna) o malakas na pag-papatupad para maiwasan at mabawasan ang pandemya, at kulang tulong sa mga negosyanteang mga tao ay walang gana para lumabas, bumili at gumawa na makakatulong sa ekonomiya ng bansa."
Calamity Governance: The present coronavirus pandemic, no doubt, remains a big threat in the Philippines. For many years, however, one can painfully remember and frequently experience is that there is the perennial hazard that all Filipinos and all government levels should pay attention to especially almost every year and all seasons of the year are the natural calamities. These disasters specifically are the numerous typhoons, floods, landslides, and earthquakes that often cause tremendous havoc to Filipinos and constant harm to the national economy.
The Philippines, according to a UN report, ranked fourth among the "most disaster-affected countries globally over the past two decades with a reported average of 16 disasters a year". The recently-released report noted that "on average, per 100,000 population, Filipinos are among those that suffer the most from natural calamities ". The country’s geographical location in the Pacific, where it sits along the Ring of Fire, makes it vulnerable "to an average of 20 typhoons annually". These unwelcome weather occurrences oftentimes result in the evacuation and displacement of hundreds of people every year. "Kailangan talagang dagdagan ang pondo sa mga ganitong sakuna at pag-ibayuhin at galingan ang sistema ng kakayahan at pagtulong para sa kaligtasan, kalusugan at kabuhayan ng ating mga nakaka-awang kababayan sa panahon ng walang katapusang kahirapan." (Tony A. San Juan (OCT-Retired)