Ora pro nobis

By Alex P. Vidal

 

“Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.”—Corrie Ten Boom

 

INSTEAD of donating wheelchairs, we suggest to our Filipino-Chinese donors and other Good Samaritans in Iloilo to donate face masks and hand sanitizers.

Wheelchairs are good, but what the Ilonggos need right now are more face masks and hand sanitizers because we are up against a treacherous virus that threatens to kill a million or more human beings this year.

Already reeling from economic meltdown as a result of pandemic-induced extended lockdowns and recession, many Ilonggos can’t afford to sustain the stocking of face masks for a day-to-day use.

Tight in budget, they would rather use their limited funds to buy food and pay their bills.

Face masks have become an annoying burden in their household budget.

Since the pandemic is still very much active and destructive, health authorities will continue to mandate that Ilonggos should wear masks and other protective gears like face shields in order to prevent the hike of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths.

Also, with due respect to the donors, donate “silently” and refrain from unnecessary publicity, if possible.

God will appreciate our charitable act more if we don’t let our left hand know when our right hand is helping someone.

 

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DO the Ilonggos still receive free hot pandesal now that the pandemic has extended?

Now that Iloilo City will be under general community quarantine (GCQ) together with three Luzon provinces and parts of Cebu until the end of August, will the corporations that launched the free pandesal make another round of distributions to the public?

On April 7, 2020, thousands of “Ilonggo Pandesal” were distributed by private corporations to the Iloilo City indigent families as requested by Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” P. Treñas.

It was reported that more than 40,000 pieces of the locally made pandesals were given on a house-to-house routine directly to the poor families in the city’s 180 villages during the lockdown on collaboration by the La Filipina Uygongco, Great Harvest Commodities, Carlos Uy Corporation and Angelina Bakeshop.

Treñas said the usual production was 43,200 pieces or 5,400 packs even as the bakers targeted to produce 43,200 packs equivalent to 648,000 pieces in 15 days.

Each pack reportedly contained eight pieces of pandesal and the bakers produced approximately 62,500 pieces or 7,800 packs per day.

“Pandesal may just be a common bread. But for the Ilonggos, it is a symbol of generosity and unity in times of crisis in the City of Love,” declared the Iloilo City Government in a Facebook post dated April 12, 2020.

This generous gesture by the bakers and the corporations that pooled their resources was laudable and impressive. In one way or the other, the free pandesal became a symbol of Ilonggo unity and benevolence from these corporations that did not abandon the Ilonggos during the lockdown.

 

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ORA pro nobis. Scientists have been scrambling to produce the vaccine against COVID-19 and the efforts made by many countries have become political, or actually a race to be the first to produce the vaccine.

Thus the Sputnik V of Russia got mix reactions from health authorities mostly in Western countries that doubted the Russian-made vaccine’s safety and effectivity.

Concocting a vaccine is not the same thing as proving a vaccine is safe and effective, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who made the comments as part of a keynote interview for Stopping Pandemics, an exclusive event due to air August 13 via National Geographic.

While scientists dispute, did some people think of turning spiritual or praying that the “real” or “most effective” vaccine be discovered soon, something that all medical experts and authorities will finally agree?

Why not also start praying seriously for the pandemic to disappear soon while the world is waiting for the magic vaccine? There’s no harm in trying. After all, genuine prayers and research can be potent combinations.

We pray to you, Lord.

 

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