The semantics of the lockdown have never been this extreme. I wonder how much do those communicators in the government earn for their mental gymnastics…
Apart from the words “No Quarantine” and the rather lenient “Community Quarantine,” all of the below words refer to the existence of a lockdown – that is, no one goes out without permission from the authorities:
General Community Quarantine
Enhanced Community Quarantine
Modified General Community Quarantine
Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine
Extensive Enhanced Community Quarantine
Extreme Enhanced Community Quarantine
Then, here are the more extreme ones:
Totally Extreme Enhanced Community Quarantine
Supercalifragilisticexpialidociously Extreme Enhanced Community Quarantine
Okay, the last two terms are fabrications, but what does this tell us about the situation? They all refer to the same state, they all produce the same results. You’re isolated from your friends (and possibly your family). If you’re unlucky, you’re on the way towards getting a three-million peso bill in the hospital. Heh, you could have brought a house and lot with that kind of money.
If you’re a worker who lives under the “no work, no pay” rule, then good luck. Even drinking it away (footnote: not a big fan of it) is not an option – liquor ban kasi eh.
It’s the same thing. There are no chicken wings coming for you anytime soon. You’re a milk tea lover? You can say goodbye to your milk tea dreams. Oh, well, you can always have popcorn, chips, and drinks, but you’ll have to endure a couple of queues here and there. More risks, more minutes using those uncomfortable masks.
Mass testing? That’s a byword for a scam here in the heart of Metro Manila – or almost anywhere in the Philippines for that matter (the cities who can do this are far and few between). Want to have transparency and efficiency? You’ll never find it here. Instead, you’ll find that the law enforcers themselves are the ones who break the rules. Manyanita pa more.
Competency and compassion? They’re nothing but a source of freaking memes. More like kabobohan and favoritism.
Traveler ka who loves doing it for real reasons – or putting on filters for the gram? Wala ka nang future, bes. Go to a corner and sing My Way on repeat.
This coronavirus pandemic has just exposed and amplified broken systems here in the Philippines. It was unfortunate, but it has been an undeniable fact.
Iyak ka na lang muna. Semantics of the lockdown pa more.
