EDITORIAL - Reckless, irresponsible, and inconsiderate superheroes

If some contact tracing forms are to be believed, Bruce Wayne, Doctor Strange, and Optimus Prime are actually real people.

This is what some businesses, and later the police, found out after looking at the contact tracing forms left behind by people entering those establishments.

Now the police are warning the public that those who leave behind false information in contact tracing forms will face the consequences.

“It's embedded in the Republic Act No. 11332, Section 9, the non-cooperation and if you are filling up a public document you are giving false statement, that is punishable by law especially if you are endangering the life of other people,” said Police Regional Office-7 director, Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro.

There are various reasons why people leave the wrong information in contact tracing forms. Some don’t want to reveal personal information while others just consider it a hassle to fill up the forms, especially if they have long names, addresses, and email addresses. But usually the reason why they do so is that they don’t want to be bothered, even if something untoward happens.

Some might think they are cheeky for leaving false information in contact tracing forms. Well, to some extent they may be. But there are better ways to describe such persons; reckless, irresponsible, and inconsiderate.

In the end, leaving false information will be most disadvantageous to the one who did that reckless, irresponsible, and inconsiderate act. Let’s say a man enters a grocery store and fills out the form as Captain America instead of his real name. Let’s say the grocery store suddenly sees a spike of infections among the workers and customers who were there that same day. Those who filled up their forms properly were duly alerted about the development because they gave their real name, address, contact number, and email address.

And because they were informed, they were able to do what was necessary to secure themselves and their families.

But Captain America? He could not be reached because S.H.I.E.L.D. could not be contacted. He doesn’t know he has COVID-19. Then Captain America goes on to infect his family and neighbors. Then the cycle of infection that had once been broken happens again.

This is just an example of what could happen. It’s a worst-case scenario, but such a case isn’t impossible.

There is saying that goes “your foolishness will go back to your own body” which is a more polite way of saying your shenanigans will ultimately backfire on you.

We see that happening all the time. The trash we dump irresponsibly goes back to our neighborhoods during floods caused by clogged drainage, those who cheat during exams end up learning nothing in the long run.

In this case, those shenanigans pulled off by the likes of Bruce Wayne, Doctor Strange, Optimus Prime, and Captain America will backfire on them should the worst-case scenario happen.