The coronavirus pandemic which continues to haunt the world has shown that in a snap of a finger, lives can change. Indeed it has. This tragedy befalling the entire world may be heaven’s way of saying that its creation, nature, and life, have been abused too much. Positively or on the contrary, it has taught us many lessons, lessons which we have to endure with for the rest of our lives.

As public servants and environmentalists, our job is to respond to public issues and concerns about the environment, in the most expeditious manner and time. Most of these range from reports of the destruction of ecosystems and biodiversity. A delayed response may aggravate the degradation of such. Hence, we see to it that the response is immediate and in accord with existing laws and regulations on the matter. However, with this global pandemic, there has been slow or no response to address these concerns. Reason: Quarantine. Lockdown. These government orders were aimed to restrict the movement of people, somehow to slow down the transmission of the disease. Public services, among others, were put to a halt. No implementation of government regulatory mandates except those involving public order and safety. It is therefore the downside of this worldwide problem.

On the positive side, people have individually or as a family knelt and prayed in front of altars, imploring God’s grace to put an end to this concern. Likewise, people have become more conscious of one’s well-being, believing that the care given to oneself is an effective way of overcoming this menace.