Can we bring America to the Philippines?

By Alex P. Vidal

 

“It is an eternal obligation toward the human being not to let him suffer from hunger when one has a chance of coming to his assistance.” —Simone Weil

 

BECAUSE of the Internet, we can monitor what is happening in the Philippines and in other parts of the globe on a regular basis even if we’re now living in a faraway place.

We are very much aware that our kababayans, our fellow Ilonggos, are among the hardest hit and now wallowing in abject economic difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 mayhem.

It’s also disheartening to learn that some public utility drivers had been arrested and jailed for begging in the streets.

Since this is a worldwide pandemic, our imagination conjures up a mirror or events that illuminate a similar scenario in other places with coronavirus commotion.

Including the United States.

Like the Filipinos and other nationalities, many Americans also lost their employment and livelihood, aside from registering a staggering number of cases and deaths, especially in New York.

They also suffered enormously from appalling economic conditions as a result of COVID-19 lockdown, and their emotional and mental anguish sometimes has led to suicide and nervous breakdown.

 

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The only difference is the Americans aren’t poor.

Their grief and melancholy is short-lived. Their depression is temporary—and gone as soon as Uncle Sam flexes his muscles and come to his children’s succor.

America is so vast and its resources—food and otherwise—are  abundant they can take care of its 350 million population in any circumstance.

They can quickly rebound from the pit of desolation and despondency and move on to the next chapter of their lives without the need to curse the government.

The federal government’s stimulus checks, passed through a bipartisan legislation, were readily available as soon as the law that created it took effect.

No red tape and corruption. No politics involved.

Emergency food supply and other social assistance in kind and in cash are accessible and always available.

Unlike in the Philippines.

Even the opportunity for many Filipinos to work again in many essential jobs had been forestalled.

No work means no income and no sufficient food on the table and in the stockroom.

Some jobs disappeared after only three months since the quarantine or lockdown took effect.

We further learned that many construction workers who, after completing the lockdown in La Paz, Jaro, Arevalo, Mandurriao, and the City Proper, have been given termination notices “for lack of budget” even before they could resume their work.

Employment opportunities or the chance to hack out a “boundary” for those in the transportation sector were reportedly scarce during the initial lifting of lockdown.

 

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Because the government social amelioration funds are not enough, many Filipino households can hardly prepare a budget meal even for a small family.

There’s also an uptick of cases on violence against women and children even as nasty altercations had sparked between suspicious residents and defensive village officials.

To complete the somber situation, a flustered President Rodrigo Roa Duterte whined about the deficit of stimulus money (where to get the next trance is his biggest headache).

The president had also decried some sneaky village officials who made a pile from the social amelioration program (SAP) intended for the poor residents. Heads were nonetheless expected to roll as proper charges have been readied.

If only the Philippines is a state of America, the Filipinos can also avail of the head-turning stimulus check worth $1,200 each, plus the pandemic unemployment fund of $600 a week.

The next coronavirus stimulus package in the United States could see Americans receive as much as $4,000 as part of a tax-credit scheme aimed at boosting tourism in the country, it was reported.

No need anymore for the elderly drivers to beg in the streets and be arrested and jailed like ordinary criminals.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)