By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
There was a noticeable increase in the number of people using the internet during the lockdown. Even courts are now using video conferencing, whenever possible, in lieu of face to face trial in court. Many private schools now don’t even do person to person enrollment– only thru email and then payment would be done through banks.
Speaking of banks, I had to meet a client in one the other day as she had to withdraw money needed for a transaction I was undertaking on her behalf and it was hell. You could not just go inside. Only clients were allowed inside and only one or two at a time. The others had to line up outside of the door, all the way to the roadside, under the sun, waiting for their turn to be entertained.
The tellers are separated from clients through a hanging cellophane wall. Documents were passed on through a hole and the money being withdrawn or deposited were placed in a small open box that is pushed through the hole. That way, there was little chance the corona virus could pass from one person to another.
Well, the virus could still have passed through the money or the box but the chance was greatly lessened if not remote.
I also had to go to the SM City and there was no crowd as we used to know mallers in the past. People were sparsely spread out around the mall and they all appeared to have gone there to buy something or for some other important purpose. At least, it seemed that nobody was just loitering around.
Every person now is wearing a face mask. In many instances, it is difficult to associate a masked face with a name. It is only when they say hello or when they start talking that you could recognize them. There was an instance when somebody waved his hand to me at a distance and I could not place him, but I waved back.
Wherever you go, there are rubbing alcohol or other disinfectants by the door with which you have to use on your hands. In places where there are guards, they are ready to spray your hands with such disinfectants as they point their gun-like thermal scanner between your eres to take your temperature to make sure you don’t have covid fever. You also have to step on a rag with disinfectant before entering.
With so many users, the internet was almost always overloaded during the lockdown. Some used it for entertainment, while others useda it to get information or news, and others to communicate with friends or colleagues or to close business deals. Others used it to castigate public officials through insults. At lest there were many who were still polite. Considering the anonymity offered by the facility or the various platforms or programs it offers, so many can say whatever they want. Even the stupidest person can venture an insult or a stupid opinion because they can remain incognito. They can also pretend to be authorities or the most intelligent on any subject matter even if they actually don’t have a passable competence regarding that.
Still others used and are still using the internet to implement scams. We published here a number of advisories or warnings regarding such the past weeks.
And considering the economic hardship everyone is facing now, with the exception of those who are really well-heeled, everybody is trying to break his or her head on how to make a living. Ambulant vendors are all over the place selling fruits, vegetables, face masks, etc. There were some who passed by the office selling hardware items like power tools which were obviously stolen.
There were also the upscale vendors. They had been going around in small trucks full of fruits and vegetables, etc. Many of them were from out of town. Some from as far as Isabela or Cagayan.
All of these vendors just show that hardship forces us to use ourr brains or that there are still some gray matter in between our ears.
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