No, it's not every man or woman for himself, even if it feels like that. A lot of people are working to try to keep things from getting worse, if not make things better. But: a thread on #COVID19 and our officials in a time of great disruption. Read on.
The framing of last night's address to the nation hoped to project strength, will, commonality of purpose, in the only way our Great Eagle Father and his folks believe works --Joy Through Strength, to borrow an unfortunate slogan from the Germans (and those who ape them)... 
Instead, we got The Autumn of the Patriarch, Part II, a sequel at least not as bad as the first part, when the Great Eagle Father seemed to be speaking from another dimension. Last night he tried to be folksy, and authentic, talking about white blood cells in military terms...
The most revealing part about last night was the obvious cramming taking place even as the broadcast was going out live. To be fair all presidents have to cram; but most avoid doing it live. It does fortify why Go is so crucial, though. He is necessary at all times to clarify.
And as far as it went, the President was his folksy paternal self, in the mold of folksy populists, his political cohort: and like them he tried to find drama in fighting s virus but it’s too tiny an enemy to really get the juices flowing and it showed. The public saw this...
And here is where hours of leaked documents circulating in chat app groups had its effect: the public was primed to expect either for the documents to be debunked, or validated; but the President zigzagging both confirmed and left confused, the public on this score. The gist...
was there, but the details would require reiteration, elaboration, and continuing clarification, just when the entire metropolis and neighboring areas were in an apocalyptic mood and desperately wanting government to outline a plan people can rally around and support...
So, there is a plan. No one is happy about it, no one is quite sure how it will work, but it's a plan we're stuck with. Most people seem resigned to go along with it, in the hope it will have some impact. For a population where social distancing is an unlikely thing to achieve...
keeping kids out of school might have the most impact, if only for everyone's peace of mind. Workers can travel, but the unemployed (or, equally painful, the informally-employed) cannot. So this enforces some distancing of the middle and upper from the lower ranks, even as...
the middle and upper, consulting their chat groups, will flee from one venue to the next, depending on where people are reportedly falling sick. Welcome to the world that was born in May, 2001, when the specter of urban insurrection permanently divorced the poor from the middle.
And, coming full circle, that fear --of chaos, riot, and the permanent underclass-- saved GMA, and fueled the Great Eagle Father's rise. It is what has sustained him and will continue to sustain him now. It is at the heart of the scheme we will all have to live with until April.
But like I said: there are people, lots of them, working to try to keep things from getting worse, if not get better. This has always been the case, regardless of the shortcomings of their superiors.
To be sure, when leaders and followers are in synch, amazing things can happen. But even if left to their own devices, like the British in WW2, we somehow muddle through, we are great improvisers. Whatever their limitations, our officials have decided social distancing is needed.
They have decided that Metro Manila is better off being quarantined from the rest of the nation, which lacks the resources, skills, and facilities that the metropolis has. That is the sad reality at the heart of the "lockdown." They believe at this time public morale requires it.
What's left for every person, family, community, organization is to deal with the fallout, as we have always done so: unsure if there is a larger plan among our leaders, or the resources to carry out a plan if it exists, with hardly any social safety nets except each other.
We are not alone in facing such a situation.
But we're still a long way off from even being able to dream other kinds (meaning more inclusive and humane) of drastic action is possible.
For the record:
So what we will all be coping with is less what the Department of Health decides but what Armed Forces and police do, as they fan out, dividing the metropolis into sectors to control movement of people. It will be patchy going: some places will be better administered than others.
Again the end, the fundamental assumption is force is what’s required and the only thing that works.
Rizal put it, tal pueblo, tal gobierno: as the people are, so is the government. Others put it forward long ago: we do not want self-government, but rather, to be governed lest chaos erupts.
But while there's some truth to our traditional notions, I'll say this, as mentioned by a friend last night as she was at the grocery with many others, stocking up for any unforseen eventuality: everyone was nice to each other. Everyone lined up. No one shouted, shoved...
No one was enjoying it, but everyone was considerate, and everyone did their assigned tasks, from parents stocking up, to cashiers working long hours, bagger-boys sweating with packages, no one had to wave batons or use bullhorns. This is a public prepped to cooperate if led.
But we will have to find that leadership closer to home, either in churches, clubs, or schools, or among circles of friends, whether real or virtual.
Meanwhile, just remember there is no shortage of dedicated citizens out there.
Somehow, here's hoping that even with the armed forces and police as the blunt instrument behind it, there's scientific rhyme, reasons --and supervision-- of what will be going on in our metropolitan neighborhoods from now til April. #end
But, as always, the Law of Unintended Consequences will be at work. Exhibit 1, exodus like December, 1941:
Exhibit 2:
Whatever you do, read this. theatlantic.com/health/archive…
And consider this:
