ZAMBOANGA CITY – It was a difficult time for the Zamboangueños, the Covid-19 pandemic stripped them not only their livelihood, but the city suffered so much losses as businesses closed down and the spread of the deadly respiratory disease threatened the faith of everybody to believe in God, and questioned the government’s resolve to end the health crisis.
Since the pandemic began in 2020, over a thousand people had died from the disease that left their families devastated. Prayers did not help them prevent what is inevitable and wealth was useless when death is at their doorsteps. With more than 22,000 Covid-19 cases the last two years, the local government struggled to assure over one million residents that vaccines are coming and they arrived in trickles, in small batches as vote-rich regions get more what others equally deserved.
It was a health and political nightmare for Mayor Beng Climaco, who continued appealing to the Department of Health and the National Inter-Agency Task Force to provide Zamboanga with more vaccines, and told residents to pray that the pandemic would soon end.
Many establishments remain closed and Zamboanga was placed under the strict enhanced community quarantine status twice in two years due to the huge number of infections. Hospitals ran out of oxygen and quarantine facilities were full, people were hungry and jobless.
By September, the health care was on the brink of collapse as Covid-19 infections shot up to over 2,600 cases despite strict travel restrictions and public health protocols imposed by Climaco since President Rodrigo declared a State of Public Health Emergency throughout the country on March 8, 2020.
The lack of vaccine supplies and the increasing number of Covid-19 cases aggravated the health situation in Zamboanga City with Climaco’s detractors and political opponents taking advantage of the crisis to advance their own interests ahead of the elections next year despite the mayor’s $2 million deal with the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for over 80,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
In October, Climaco asked the Department of Health and the National Inter-Agency Task Force for additional Covid-19 vaccines and critical care supplies, among others as the City Government continues to battle the spread of the deadly respiratory virus. The surge in Covid-19 cases pushed the local healthcare system to the verge of collapse with private and government hospitals overflowing with patients and medical frontliners overworked.
The pandemic also largely affected the hotel and tourism industries as well because of the travel restrictions imposed by the national and local governments. Hotel rooms were empty, employees were either forced to resign or retrenched. One hotel owner almost sold his 80-room establishment as debts and interests on bank loans piled up, but no buyers were willing to pay P60 million to take over the business.
Even community newspapers were forced to cut on their manpower and number of circulations because of lack of advertisements. From about a dozen local weeklies and dailies the past years, only one regional weekly - the Mindanao Examiner; and two daily newspapers - Zamboanga Times and Zamboanga Today - are operating in Zamboanga City on limited capacities.
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| Printed copies of the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner are ready for distribution. The company says the pandemic affected its operation. (Mindanao Examiner) |
The 15-year old Mindanao Examiner now relies more on paid articles or “advertorials” and from revenues on its website to run the family-owned company, but the publisher is now thinking of selling the newspaper for only P5 million to venture into a new business.
With the massive vaccination campaign, the mayor said Covid-19 cases are also going down and is expected to fall further to a few dozen. Climaco, who is running for congresswoman in Zamboanga City’s 1st District, said she has prayed to God for the pandemic to end soon and wishes only good for Zamboangueños.
The mayor, now on her third and last term, said she prays to God and asks nothing for herself, but the safety and welfare of her people and all the good things for Zamboanga City. “I pray to God for our people to be able to be safe, healthy and happy. With God’s grace we become resilient learning from the struggles we have. Amidst the pandemic, we rely on God’s providence to win over all of life’s struggles,” she said.
“Curada, Comida, Busca Vida y Vacuna (Cure, Food, Livelihood and Vaccines). We look forward to 2022 to bring our beloved children back to school, families safely outdoors, and in prayer with the Holy Family, find hope, have faith in Love. We also pray for our country, for the people to choose the next leaders whom God will direct for us. And a world humble, grateful and good stewards of environment versus Climate Change,” Climaco said.
When asked about her wishes for those who continue to hurl black propaganda against her, and for her detractors and political trolls, the mayor replied: “I pray for all…for them to be happy and healthy. God watches over everyone.”
Climaco said at least 65% of the targeted 700,000 Zamboangueños or 70% of the population had been fully inoculated against the Covid-19 and some 597,509 others received their first dose of the vaccine as of December 23. She said the mass vaccination continues as more medicines are now made available by the national government.
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| Shoppers wear face masks at KCC Mall de Zamboanga. (Al Jacinto) |
With the mass vaccination going on and the steady decline in the number of Covid-19 cases, more residents, including children, now have access to parks and shopping malls, among other public venues. Hotels are also picking up with tourists and businessmen flocking Zamboanga following the lifting of the strict travel requirements.
Although economic data is not readily made available by the local government due to the Yuletide holidays, Climaco said: “Business is now very good and we have many new establishments, and slowly we are rising up again and we shall win this battle against Covid-19 as long as there are vaccines and everybody strictly follow the public health protocols and never forget to pray to God and give thanks for everything, for all the blessings we are receiving.” (Al Jacinto)
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