The Legal Front
Atty. Arturo D. Brion, LL.B, LL.M.
(Part I)
The title is part of a quote from a book byCanadian author, Margaret Atwood. The quote, also known as the Optimist’s Creed, reads in full:
As you ramble on through life, brother, Whatever be your goal, Keep your eye upon the doughnut, And not upon the hole.
As our nation goes through a very critical phase of our history – ourcontinuing struggle with the pandemic;the coming May 2022 national elections; and our unresolved problems of widespread poverty and uncertain economic times,Chinese intrusive designs on our territory, recurring climatic problems andour need for continuing environmental protection awareness, ourunevenyouth education record, and deteriorating peace and order situations in some localities– let us not forget the blessings we now enjoy.COVID is a problem that, on the surface, is on the run: our numbers have vastly improved and are still improving. But we may have only surmaounted COVID’searly assault; new variants have begun to afflict more affluent parts of the world andmay soon be in our shores if we are not careful. Herein lies the doughnut part that we should remember: we have made significant gains against COVID and we should protect and capitalize onthese gains.
We already have some measure of COVID knowledge, experiences,and approaches that we can build upon. Our leadershave kept a level head and developed a surer and firmer hand as they gained confidence. They deserve credit, not condemnation, for any meandering moves they earlier made. There was simply no guiding template then; they experimented and took their chance, and have fortunately been succeeding.
To single out a particular sector of our societythat deserves credit, our medical workers and professionals, true to their oaths,faithfully discharged their duties and early on held the line for us: they thereby assumed unusual risks that cost many of themeven their lives. Although I cannot list all of those who died, I have listed a few as examples of their singular contribution to our society’s survival. Let us remember them, the unlisted ones, and the family who missed them last Christmas. Let not their ultimate sacrifices be wastednor be forgotten.
Among those who died were:Dr. Romeo Greg Macasaet, an anesthesiologist from Manila Doctors Hospital;Dr. Marcelo Jaochico, chief of the Pampanga Provincial Health Office;Dr. Francisco Avelino Sy Lukban, UP College of Medicine Class of 1982;Dr. Salvacion “Sally”R. Gatchalian,Philippine Pediatric Society President;Dr. Leandro Resurreccion III, a renowned pediatric surgeon; Drs. Dennis Ramon and Helen Tudtud,doctors-spouses from Cebu; Dr. Aileen S.P. Baviera, professor andformer Dean of the UP Asian Center, and Sinologist; Dr Alan T. Ortiz, also a business leader, avid biker and former civil servant;Dr. Raul Diaz Jara, an esteemed cardiologist, internist and past president of the Philippine Heart Association; and PGH nurse Faye Marie Luna Palafoxwho,as safety officer, wasincharge of ensuring the complete and correct donning of nurses’ personal protective equipment (PPE) and who saved many lives in this role.
We should also give due recognition to our people for their ready response despite the unavoidableinconveniences and dislocations that the COVID battle brought with it. It is to their collective credit that we did not resist governmental efforts to fight COVID, as had happened elsewhere.
Now that our efforts are showing praiseworthy results, let us not lull ourselves into complacency and laxity by loosening up our guard based on our early successes;let us remind everyone to maintain vigilance and to resist being carried away by the holidays’ relaxed and festivemood.
The authorities and the media, whether traditional or social, should now perhaps stress COVID developments in the US, the UK, and Europe where experts are forecasting worst outcomes before they can effectively subdue COVID.
In this light, let us not simplylook now at our doughnut but also at the hole we can still fill – not only our gains but alsothe steps we still need to take to achievegreater immunity for everyone.
Thus, our authoritiesshould continue to be firm and focused on current implementing moves, and must give full thought to future measures to halt variants before they spread into our communities.
The coming new year may be our opportunity to retool and restrengthen our protective measures and facilities, i.e., to secure more and appropriate vaccines for the unvaccinated and boosters for the vaccinated, and to administer theseresolutely.
Let us seize every opportunity to strengthen our health facilities and supplement our health workers’ compensation packages and safety measures, and address their particular concerns, among them, their agitation to relax the ceiling on the deployment of our medical personnel overseas.
The government’searly move to impose a deployment ceiling should be understandable. We initially needed every available hand to meet the initial COVID uncertainties; thus, our authorities had to show their own strong hand to ensure that everyone needed would be around. But now that things are looking up, the DOLE should perhaps consider a gradual and calibrated loosening of restrictionsas overseas work also addressesother equally weightyproblems – the poverty in our midst and the need for economic preparedness at the individual and family levels as the world economic situation turns to gloomwith COVID’s resurgence.
Let us think positively in line with the Christmas and New Year spirit; be thankful for our God-given gifts; and show our appreciation through our resolve to enhance these gifts through self-help and prayers. And let us hope that our good and generous God will hear us and provide greater gifts in the coming year.