Filipinos are known for
being resilient, because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, nationwide community
quarantines and social distancing have become the new normal. Because prolonged
and extensive lockdowns are relatively new experiences, little is known about
the well-being of people in such extreme situations.
For many of us
Filipinos, resiliency is a word we have heard many times throughout our lives.
From a beleaguered family fleeing the onslaught of Super Typhoon
"Yolanda" and the Taal Volcano eruption, to teachers crossing raging
rivers to deliver printout modules to underserved students due to the closure
of public schools during the pandemic. Headline after headline, story after
story, the word "resilient" has emerged as a concept associated with
the Philippines in particular, giving rise to the phrase "Filipino
resiliency." We appear to have become accustomed to and desensitized to
the calamities and disasters that have occurred in our unique geographical
situation and current politico-economic state, to the point where we no longer
question why Filipinos have had to be resilient in the first place.
The
COVID-19 pandemic has brought upon the world with challenges. Almost all
countries had to shut down their economies to halt the spread of the virus and
the Philippines is one of those countries who have taken strict measures by
implementing the Enhanced Community Quarantine on 15 March 2020. The lockdown did help in
controlling the spread of the virus and apparently, the Philippines is already
flattening the curve. The number of cases reported in the country is no longer
growing at an exponential rate, however, flattening the curve does not
necessarily mean that the Philippines is winning its battle
against the pandemic. There are other measures to consider to ultimately say
that a country is winning the battle.
Indeed, resiliency is a very familiar word for us Filipinos. For some reasons, it gives people the strength needed to process and overcome hardship.
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