Karen wakes up late in the morning. Her parents have already begun working from home, her breakfast already set on the table since 7am. Since the lockdown started, she’s been catching up with Netflix shows, enjoying her hobbies, and tinkering with Tiktok.

Joseph wakes up early in the morning. His parents are at home—both of them daily wage earners who lost their jobs due to the lockdown. They look for whatever means to bring food to the table. Since the lockdown started, they have been trying to outlive the threats of their reality, which now includes COVID-19.

Time at opposite ends of society. While some are locked in the safety of their homes with enough resources to last, others lay bare and vulnerable in this public health crisis, hoping that in the next day not hunger, the virus, nor the policemen will take them away. Amid this pandemic, we realize now the intersectionality of societal issues – in public health, the economy, and governance among others – boil down to one major issue that affects us all: inequality.

As we are all victims of this global crisis, more so are the impoverished. They are already hard-hit victims of an unjust and unequal society, and crises like these exacerbate their harsh reality. As Peter Baker puts it, “In such moments, whatever is broken in society gets revealed for just how broken it is…”

These trying times are a moment of reflection for us. We see how the ineptitude and ignorance of our government and its leaders cost so many Filipinos. Our public healthcare system is weak, inaccessible, and slow in response. Research institutions are underfunded and looked upon, even during a public health crisis. The response of educational institutions, both public and private, revealed how selective and inconsiderate they are of its learners. Economy’s around the world have been gravely affected, but more so for ours as a third-world country.

At the same time, these trying times are a moment of action. Now that our eyes have seen the truths, we now know what kind of difference and changes we must make. Peter Baker once again points out that “Maybe we can view our problems as shared, and society as more than just a mass of individuals competing against each other for wealth and standing.”

We need a government who will lead with clarity and compassion, foresight and fairness. To achieve this, we must educate our kababayans in selecting their leaders. Education then must remain true to its constitutional mandate to be free and accessible for all, even in times of crisis. To help ease national efforts in combating diseases, strengthening and regionalization of our healthcare system should be a priority seeing how it is centralized and concentrated in Metro Manila.  Time and time again, crises like these further prove that economic malpractices such as contractualization should be abolished.

Although Karen and Joseph each lead lives at opposite ends of society, both live in the very same society and the flaws that come with it. It is this societal gap that lies between Karen and Joseph that must be bridged together through collective action. Time is ticking and both are counting the days, although not the same way as the other one does.

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Author
Alec Templonuevo
Managing Editor for Online Media