HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPE-VINE
Philip Cu Unjieng
My three sons are all in their 20s; and the middle boy left for San Francisco early February to start a year-long internship at a Bay Area hotel as part of completing his H&R Hospitality degree requirements. By mid-March, the hotel had gone on skeleton workforce and he was relieved of his duties. There were no PAL flights to return to Manila, and we were all hopeful that it was only a matter of time before he would be reinstated, and the investment made for him to acquire his working student visa and fly him to the USA wouldn’t go to waste.
To shorten a 6-month waiting story, he finally resumed work in September; but now, in a New Hampshire hotel. Yes, there were times his Mom was pushing that he just come back; but to his credit, he stayed committed to complete what he left for, and was fortunate that he’s now been re-absorbed into a US economy that’s still uncertain of how to move forward, and varies from state to state.
In fact, I joked with him that if we were worried about social distancing and who would breathe on him. At least now, in the rolling hills of New Hampshire, he could still breathe. Back in the West Coast he left behind, the forest fires (as MAGA explained in his most scientific-best, “trees exploding”) have so affected and deteriorated air quality in several areas, that pulmonary ailments are a grim probability.
I preamble with this, only because he knows there’s still a shadow hanging over the USA, and the possibility exists that should there be a downturn in business, the hotel will have to start letting go of its intern staff. Communicating via FB Messenger, he asked me the other day how things were here in Metro Manila. And I replied, “Slowly... but unsurely.”
And I thought, that little inversion of the stock phrase would be a perfect title for this Sunday’s column, as it pretty much reflects what is going on here – a country where no national mass testing program or true contact tracing capabilities were ever established. A lot of talk and promises, but the financial burden of making it happen proved to be too insurmountable?
The other day, a news report came out that there was an upsurge again in our COVID cases for the period September 6-13, compared to the two previous seven-day cycles. And of course, it’s not something anyone wants to hear; as the economy, businesses, our livelihoods, have all been hard hit, and any form of gradual, steady recovery is a welcome move that we don’t want to hear has been offset again. But this poses the thorny question of are we then living in denial?
On my part, it’s the uncertainty that really bothers me – the not knowing what are our true game plan is, and whether we’re just going to fall back on more stringent quarantine measures should COVID cases rise again to a significant degree. Were the figures claiming the flattening of the curve truly accurate; and to what can we then attribute the September 6-13 rise? Seems to me no one can provide a satisfactory answer or analysis that can then be the basis for the actions we should take. Our trust in the DOH took a severe nosedive as the PhilHealth scandal surfaced; and I know for a fact that several cynics mutter under their breath that the reported flattening came right after reports that the government was strapped financially.
For all sorts of businesses in the private sector, there’s a clamor to re-open the economy in a manner that will allow some form of recovery to commence. But all over the world, there’s been a reassessment of how to make this happen, and with the COVID shadow still hanging over us, it can’t be a simple case of “Back to Business As Usual.”
In truth, we’re in a better “boat” than in the USA, where with their COVID response so stupidly politicized, so many MAGA faithful are convinced the virus is a hoax, or that we all just have to leave it to Fate – and with recoveries so much more than fatalities, there’s really nothing to fear. Trump’s campaign trail is like some COVID super-spreader, where they refuse to wear masks or socially distance – while Donald makes it a point not to mix with the crowds. If only for the sake of the more elderly and frail, I’m praying the worst doesn’t happen.
For a number of restaurants in the USA, they’ve gone worker-oriented as opposed to owner-driven. And that seems the path to take for surviving and maintaining the staff you’ve trained and nurtured pre-pandemic. Online shopping portals have diversified, and found ways to make online shopping an easier and more enjoyable experience. They may have thrived during the last six months, but it’s now the game of how do you maintain your hold on all these new customers, and find favor with a fresh batch, to further expand your reach.
I’m sorry if my column this week is short of humor or puns; but I will close with one. New Hampshire is a battleground state; traditionally Republican, but it swung by the smallest of margins to go Democrat during the last few elections – but all that just leaves me apprehensive about the kind of people my son has to encounter and deal with in the course of his hotel work.
And here in Metro Manila, I’m still cautious and worried about how well we’re faring in this Corona War. Some try to philosophize and preach about this pandemic having some purpose, or being part of some Divine Plan. For me, it just is, and we cope and manage the best we can. If the virus is part of some purpose-driven plan, can I just say I prefer dolphins?