An apocalypse? (Again?)

By Atty. Eduardo T. Reyes III

As of this writing, a handful of relatives, friends and loved ones had passed while scores of others are battling different kinds of ailments after getting infected with Covid-19.

The viciousness of the virus and its characteristic of being a fast spreader had gripped government regulators in Iloilo forcing their hand to impose another hard lockdown to take effect today and for the next two weeks with the possibility of further extensions if necessary.

As a consequence, pedestrians and motorists had again grown thinner as people recede to their homes to be hemmed-in by the lockdown with no permission to go out except for procurement of basic necessities even as only one member of the household may do so.

This is reminiscent of the strict lockdowns imposed by local government units (LGUs) in March of last year when the virus had its first outbreak in the country. Like domino blocks falling one after the other, every LGU had closed its borders from its neighbors whether landlocked or separated by streams. The residents were ordered to stay at home by executive fiat.

And then suddenly the streets became deserted. The police took over.

Save for a few miscreants who flouted with the regulations and incidents of conflict between them and the police authorities, the implementation was generally peaceful according to reports.

Veritably, the people followed their government and submitted to the impositions.

And in this iteration, it is hoped that the government has a well thought out plan on what to do after the lockdown. Emerging from the lockdown should not feel like going out to a strange world after an apocalypse. It should instead feel like calibrated water directed from a hose had swept away the raging virus orchestrated by the government like a teacher telling the class what to do next.

This is because it had been held that:

“Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the Government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites everyman to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy”. Justice Brandeis, dissenting in Olmstead v. United States (1928).            

While for their part, the people feel that this second lockdown is surreal such that it makes for a good movie plot.

But this is real and we all have to live through this (again).

For lawyers, this means no hearings and no fees. For the man on the street, no peddling as the streets have virtually turned into ghost towns. Employers and businessmen have to contend with paying rent and salaries without expecting the usual income during this period of time.

If we look at it from this perspective, then indeed, it is an apocalypse of some kind where ghouls n’ ghosts will take to the streets of our minds.

But, if we see this as an opportunity to give ourselves a break, spend quality time with our family, and allow our employees to enjoy the same, then truly, we can turn this ‘apocalypse’ into a chance to humanize ourselves because we were actually ghouls n’ ghosts in our work for the longest time we cannot even reckon as to when we turned into such abhorrent creatures.

Indeed, if this is so, then let this be an “apocalypse” of the kind that will destroy the monsters in us and restore us into the human beings that we truly are.

(The author is the senior partner of ET Reyes III & Associates– a law firm based in Iloilo City. He is a litigation attorney, a law professor and a law book author. His website is etriiilaw.com).