Too quick to the draw

The recent outcry over the alleged mishandling of the arrival of a cruise ship in the port of Manila was a classic case of uninformed people and government agencies being “too quick to the draw” in finding fault, blaming the wrong party or covering their asses.

Given the unusual negative publicity and social media attacks hurled at the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), it was impossible not to hear or read about the incident where droves of foreign tourists found themselves undergoing arrival procedures reminiscent of refugees disembarking from ships. Ironically, the Department of Tourism quickly came out with a statement disavowing any involvement in the chaos and thickly laying the responsibility all on the PPA. They even stated they were not part of the arrangement for arriving cruise ships.

One weekend later we now know that the mess was caused by the local handler Ben Line Agencies and Asian Terminals Inc./ATI, the operator of the specific terminal, for not deploying the appropriate number of porters and personnel to assist the cruise ship passengers. The responsible parties also failed to manage and create space between arriving passengers from the cruise ship and departing passengers about to board the vessel.

The DOT statement did nothing to help or remedy the situation, if at all they poured more kerosene on the fire. What made it distasteful was the part that said: “The mishandling of arriving cruise passengers runs counter to the objectives of the Marcos administration to enhance the overall tourist experience.”

Just to place everything in context, the statement came out even before the incident was investigated and reported. As some media outlets wrote it, the DOT washed their hands of the incident. If the DOT were really all out for arriving tourists, their representatives should have been where the problem was, if not they should have sent “back-up” but not throw the PPA under the bus. Or was the statement designed for the DOT to get the lead for handling arriving cruise ships which they could mine for PR points?

Fact of the matter is the PPA has done more to enhance overall tourist experience by upgrading many ports that process local and foreign tourists traversing our archipelago. For one, we in Batangas often appreciate the Batangas port for being vastly improved and comfortable for sea travelers.

The DOT deserves several demerits for exemplifying poor teamwork, being unsupportive of a team member wrongfully attacked and for not taking any responsibility for the trauma of their guests! You are, after all, the Department of Tours-Tourists- Tourism.

Likewise, I realized how many Pinoys simply prejudged the PPA or routinely expressed their lifelong discontent with Philippine institutions and agencies. None of them even tried to “err on the side of caution.” They simply wrote off the Philippines, the government and things Filipino as “hopeless.” No wonder we find ourselves in such situations, because we hope less and curse more.

SARS Covid-2: Positive

Even before the RT-PCR results came in, I already assumed I was Covid-positive just by the speed of how the lines on our store-bought test kit registered the same results. Before this happened, I was already a pro face mask campaigner. The numbers and news reports indicate a rise in Covid in the last 30 days or so, but I felt like chicken little saying “the sky is falling.”

But when a government physician told me that things were indeed on the rise both in private and public hospitals and how rising Covid cases had become alarming in Quezon City perhaps due to its size and population density, I realized my fears were well founded. So, I had Covid, no big deal. Just self-isolate, drink the medicines and in five days, you’re clear to go.

First of all, try buying Molnupiravir, the number 1 most prescribed anti-viral medication for Covid. You need 800 mg in the morning and 800 mg in the evening for five days. What they don’t tell you is the only available dosage is 200 mg, not available in Mercury and Watsons outlets in the Ortigas-Pasig area. We finally tracked down some at a private hospital but after buying the medicines, we found out that my wife also tested positive, so we needed twice the original prescription. A shout out on Facebook got a hit from a dear friend who called a friend who supplied a whole bottle of the exact amount.

Two days into having Covid, I realized how wrong the current narrative or mind set is about Covid. Everyone thinks that if you have the vaccines, you’re supposed to be Covid proof. That is a fallacy. All vaccines have a coverage period and an expiry “date.”

The worst thing is when people tell you that when you get Covid you simply experience flu-like symptoms and then you’ll be fine, especially if you’ve been vaccinated. This is dangerous messaging that could cause harm to senior citizens, people with comorbidities, immuno-compromised individuals, pregnant women or children. This wrong messaging is what has made people become less cautious about getting infected. Too many people have died from Covid, then and now, and we need to get serious about it!

Last and equally important is that people should do home testing or RT-PCR testing if they experience flu-like symptoms so you can avoid infecting others. Be more open and more public about sharing their status if they are infected with Covid. That will at least remind people that Covid is still around, it still affects their friends and family, and that people are managing better with available knowledge and support from doctors.

After posting on Facebook, we received so many prayers as well as others sharing that they too recently got Covid. If the President can get it, we all can. That’s Covid.

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