THROUGHOUT this entire pandemic, I constantly read the same things dominating online discourse: Bacolod is going into ruin; the government is to be blamed for everything; our lives are miserable because of the constant reversal to stricter lockdown measures. While all the above may be, to some degree, true, we are missing the crux of the solution to ending this pandemic: collaboration.
Covid-19 is a monster that has exposed the deep-rooted cracks of our society. Bacolod City, and most other cities in the Philippines, is situated in a developing, recently industrialized, economy. State capacity in our city is still a developing force and unit, as is the case for much of the Philippines and most developing nations. Therefore, it would be an absolute simplification to primarily blame all our troubles to one entity: the state. In a growing nation, everyone has to act together when the fundamental fabric of society is being torn apart.
In other words, this means that we the citizens have an equally, if not more important, role in ending the proliferation of Covid cases in our city. I agree with most people in advocating for more government transparency, especially when it comes to the dealings of funds and intervention schemes. But what I am not in accordance with are those so-called "activists" online who merely spout hatred, ignorance, and division online and offer no real solution to the current status quo. Ultimately, I'm a loyal supporter of those critics of the system, but am extremely disappointed in those who only seek to blame and not to really act.
There are some exceptional examples that we should model our efforts to: the Bacolod Employers Union (BEU) was recently launched as a way to increase communication and representation of the private sector in the New Government Center. The BEU representatives voice their complaints, frustrations, and criticisms with government officials, and then sit down together to form real-time solutions and strategies. This is what we need to accomplish: collaboration. This is the right way to voice our criticisms: to our representatives in a collaborative, constructive fashion. This is how real change, although painstakingly slower, is achieved.
We are far from being a perfect society. Bacolod, as we see, continues to face multiple maladies in this time. But instead of directing our anger in an endless, toxic cycle, we can formulate new outlets to express our dissent. We need to revamp our discourse to be one where we can talk about different ways each stakeholder group (the private sector, the government, education, healthcare etc.) can come together and actually make a difference. We need to bring back intellectual debate at the frontline of our infamous Facebook posts and debates.
As an 18-year-old columnist, probably the youngest in most newspapers in this city, I have immense faith in some of the youth of our city. There are some already promoting these ideals of intellectualism in their respective circles. But we need to expand. For having these discussions will empower the average citizen of Bacolod to understand the pandemic's effects to a more profound level and perhaps will inspire them to form a novel approach that could drastically improve the status quo.
Till then, keep reading. Keep checking on the government. And when possible, voice your opposition through a meaningful outlet, don't just let it become an excuse to spew more hate and division online.
More than ever, we need to come together.
