A day, and a year, of transition

A common theme in today’s observance of the New Year has to do with transition. Among the most ubiquitous of images that mark this day is that of an old man, representing the year just past, shuffling past a smiling, eager toddler traipsing through a doorway, the symbol of the year unfolding.

For Filipinos, 2022 could not be more welcome and anticipated. Just yesterday, 2021 closed on a note both dismaying and disheartening. Supertyphoon Odette had laid havoc on much of the Visayas and northern Mindanao and Palawan, leaving behind almost 400 dead and thousands more injured, missing, homeless, and hungry. Well into this year, perhaps, the suffering and misery left behind by this supertyphoon will continue to afflict the survivors.

On top of that, the lingering effects of the two-year lockdowns caused by the threat of COVID-19 and its variants continue to trouble the populace. Many activities, such as face-to-face classes and the reopening of churches to the faithful, are still touch and go. The return to the severe social distancing restrictions early in the pandemic is ever-present with the threat of another surge due to the emergence of yet another new COVID-19 variant. The tentative steps taken to move the economy forward are at risk of being obliterated if the more infectious (if less deadly) Omicron strain runs rampant the way its predecessor Delta did.

But, as in any transition, good news hovers in the background. We are in the midst of the campaign season, harbinger of the elections in May. No one knows exactly how the outcome will affect the nation: Will the end of the Duterte administration usher in change for the better, most especially in the human rights situation? Or will things get worse? Will we be jumping, to borrow a cliché, from the frying pan to the fire?

The answer lies in the hands of the people — in the hands of voters and the choices we make. We have a chance at a makeover, from the local to the national level, from local government to the legislature, to the seat of national power. Our choices will determine not just who will steer the levers of political policy, but also how we will all live in the next six years.

Will we finally live without fear of police knocking on our doors at night seeking to cart away drug suspects? Or will people continue to cower in their hovels each time police operations descend into their neighborhoods? Will our economy and business community, including our regulators, be able to breathe freely without the pressure exerted by favored business interests who invoke their access to our leaders to lay their grubby paws on undeserved wealth? And will journalists finally be able to do their work free of harassment, libel suits, and threats of death and violence to report and comment on events, policies, and personalities that impact our national welfare?

And just as importantly, will we Filipinos be able to hold our heads up high once again in the world arena — recognized as citizens of a sovereign state unbeholden to powerful neighbors, and able to pursue policies without continually looking over our shoulder for some other leader’s approval? Will we see this country’s stature in matters such as corruption, rule of law, and fair business governance regain footing in the eyes of the international community?

What a long series of questions with which to confront the year to come. But that is exactly what 2022 means to the Filipino citizenry. We are currently a nation on the balance, teetering between deliverance and disaster, between salvation and shame.

In this year of transition, the task before us is to weigh our options, choose among compelling alternatives, and think beyond ourselves to consider the greater good, the common need, the future of our nation.

Already, this has been a year of stirring, boundless volunteerism — of determined intention turning into action. In areas still reeling from Odette’s destruction, ordinary citizens have been organizing themselves to respond better and faster to the victims’ crying need in the face of the government’s sluggish response: students and young professionals in Cebu, for example, pooling their funds and efforts together to bring relief goods and commiserate with people; even more heartening, survivors of Supertyphoon Yolanda in Leyte coming together to bring not just necessities but more so their presence and experience to their stricken neighbors in Southern Leyte and nearby islands.

Appreciating that patriotism and love of country call for a stout commitment to something bigger than ourselves — that one’s actions and choices have consequences on the rest of his or her fellow citizens — is a task and a responsibility we need to keep in mind, as we embark on what promises to be a stormy, tumultuous, but promising year.