WE learned late last week that the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) is instituting strict health protocols for all policemen, civilian personnel and those who intend to transact business with the local police command.
The reason given by the DCPO spokesperson is that like all other government and private offices the command is just doing exactly what needs to be done in this time of the deadly coronavirus disease pandemic that has already infected more than a hundred thousand Filipinos with over three thousand deaths in the country.
As of the close of last week, according to the spokesperson of the DCPO, a total of nine personnel of the said police command have been found to have the virus with them. They are however, asymptomatic, the lady police spokesperson added.
We believe that the Police Director who decided to implement measures that would make the DCPO compound relatively free from the deadly virus has done his best in helping the Davaoenos feel safe when getting inside the police compound. Meaning, when they are inside, they are presumed seeking police intervention for a crime-free community or that they feel they have nothing to fear inside because they are not criminals nor having intention to become one.
And the DCPO chief would only want to add to the Davaoeno’s freedom from fear of becoming victims to unidentified criminals lurking in the city. The good police director would want the Davaoenos to be free from fear of getting CoViD infection when they transact business inside the police headquarters.
Yes, we learned that the DCPO has put up facilities that would ensure isolation of any of its personnel who are monitored having the virus so they can be prevented from interacting with those who do not have and the public in general.
We take our hat off to the leaders of the police command for doing such noble moves on their own volition. They are showing that they too can instill discipline among their ranks and not just in the general population of the city.
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For the last five months or so the entire world has been virtually put on shaky footing because of the CoViD 19 pandemic that as of last Monday, already afflicted some 24 million people and killed about a million worldwide.
The economies of countries, big and small, are pushed to its lowest level more than what happened during the Second World War in the late 1930’s up to the middle of the 1940s.
Medical scientists have been racing to discover vaccines that could put a stop to the pandemic, and medicines that can cure the afflicted. But so far the most that has been achieved of the vaccines and medicines search is its last leg of clinical trials on human beings..
And if we are ready to believe the news reports that have come out in various media platforms, the earliest that a vaccine or drug could be made available for mass usage, is either during the last quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2021.
By then, if many people will remain disobedient to the mandated health protocols, projections say that CoViD infections could double its present figure and deaths will double or even triple as well. That is one very grim scenario.
Meanwhile that both the vaccines and drugs are still being tested, we can be certain that by reading the homily of Pope Francis in one of his masses last week our thoughts on a possible CoViD carnage of the earth’s population would be distracted and possibly, if we do as he have suggested, will make us experience the miracle that our faith in God can bring to us.
Here is the text of the Pope’s homily in a mass he officiated last August 17, 2020 as shared to us by our friend Guilly Paden through Facebook.
“You can have flaws, be anxious, and even be angry, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can stop it from going bust. Many appreciate you, admire you and love you. Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments. To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord. It is not only to enjoy the smile, but also to reflect on the sadness.
It is not only to celebrate the successes, but to learn lessons from the failures. It is not only to feel happy with the applause, but to be happy in anonymity. Being happy is not a fatality of destiny, but an achievement within themselves. To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny’s author. It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul. It is to thank God for every morning, for the miracle of life. Being happy is not being afraid of your own feelings. It is being able to talk about you.
It is having the courage to hear a “no”. It is confidence in the face of criticism, even when unjustified. It is to kiss your children, pamper your parents, to live poetic moments with friends even when they hurt us. To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful and simple. It is to have maturity to be able to say “I made mistakes”. It is to have the courage to say “I am sorry”. It is to have the sensitivity to say, “I need you”. It is to have the ability to say “I love you”. May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness…That in spring may it be a lover of joy. In winter a lover of wisdom.
And when you make a mistake start all over again. For only then will you be in love with life. You will find that to be happy is not to have a perfect life. But use the tears to irrigate tolerance. Use your losses to train patience. Use your mistakes to sculptor serenity. Use pain to plaster pleasure. Use obstacles to open windows of intelligence. Never give up…Never give up on people who love you. Never give up on happiness, for life is an incredible show.”
Yes, dear readers, if we are mindful of the Pope’s exhortations, and we are obedient to the various health protocols issued while we are in the grip of the CopViD 19 pandemic, and above all, we look up to God as the ultimate doctor, then we could set ourselves free from the fear of the current health emergency that our world is in.
