Visiting the city a year after

I was a resident of Metro Manila for 40 years, but when COVID-19 came, I was forced to seek refuge in the province. A day before the first quarantine restriction was imposed in March last year, I flew to Cagayan province in Northern Luzon, and I have stayed and worked remotely from here since then.

Two weeks ago, I went back to the metropolis and had the chance to see what has become of my old stomping grounds. I actually had two brief trips back to the city since last year, but I didn’t get the opportunity to go around then.

On this recent trip, after getting my second vaccine dose in Makati City, I ventured out and went to three different hospitals for medical procedures and consultations for myself, my wife, and our son. I also went to several shopping malls to buy supplies, shop for toddler clothes, and enjoy meals in two restaurants my wife and I sorely miss. I figured that these jaunts armed me with just enough perspective to write about what have been some of the changes in the biggest urban center of our country.

The first impression that struck me was that about 50 percent of the people I used to see regularly have gained substantial weight. Half of the security guards, officemates, bank personnel, and the few friends that I saw have bigger bellies and heavier torsos. While quarantine restrictions may be protecting us from the virus, the prolonged restriction on movement may be spawning other health issues.

Since the onset of the pandemic, an increasing number of my friends and colleagues have been diagnosed with cancer ailments of the liver, prostate, lymph nodes, among others. This is an observation shared by others in their own circles. The prolonged sedentary lifestyle, the inability to go for regular medical check-up, and the unfathomed effect of mental stress on physical well-being may be a toxic cocktail that results in serious ailments.

On COVID-19 vaccines, what’s true in our province is true in Metro Manila. A huge number of people don’t trust Chinese vaccines. My very rough estimate is that 70 percent of rural and urban folk don’t want to get vaccinated with either Sinovac or Sinopharm. This is true not only for rank and file employees, but even for highly educated professionals.

From my visual survey of the restaurants that used to thrive in the area where I both reside and work in the city, roughly 30 percent have closed shop. The few of the eateries that are still open confided that what helps them continue operating is the substantial reduction in rent granted by their landlords. If not for these rental concessions, there would have been more business closures and unemployment.

On the major city roads, I saw exclusively segregated point-to-point bus lanes, but I seldom saw buses regularly using them. This is one change I want to see continuing even after we’ve defeated the virus—a shift to mass transit. But the empty segregated lanes must be filled with buses in order to achieve our long-needed pivot to efficient public transportation.

Flying out of Metro Manila and into provincial destinations is a nightmare. The first thing that airline counter personnel asked us was: “Where’s your RT-PCR test results?” Not just any RT-PCR test, mind you, but one that was taken within 48 hours from your flight time. With RT-PCR test results getting released more than 48 hours after you’re swabbed, how on earth can passengers comply with this requirement? When we were advised that we could take an antigen test at the airport instead, it was too late for us to catch our flight. Apparently, you are required to comply with the health requirements of the city/municipality where your airport of destination is located, even if you live some three or more hours’ drive away. We had to change our airport of destination in order to travel back to our hometown on a different day.

Metro Manila has been drained of its spirit. It’s a ghost town at 7 in the evening, compared to the pre-COVID-19 days when things would just start to get buzzing at that hour. Who gets the blame for all of this—the virus or the government? We’ll get the answer come election time next year, if we get lucky.

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