I was in Manila when the lock-down was announced. Here’s my experience.
I live and work in Singapore. I was in Manila for conducting a workshop. The President of Philippines, Mr Rodrigo Duterte, announced a lockdown of Manila. Here’s my experience amidst the rumors ,the announcement and its after-effects.
My role requires me to travel 50% of my time. As the spread of COVID-19 increased, I reduced my travel as much as I could. However, moving workshops and assessments online is just not feasible. I am leading a transformation project. It requires brainstorming, challenging the status quo and lots and lots of arguments. The online meetings just don’t get that kind of involvement. Not just yet. Thus I along-with my colleagues from Japan, Indonesia and Singapore traveled to Manila for a couple of days. They turned out to be very interesting two days.
The rumors begin:
There were 10 of us in the room. All of us wearing masks, screened for temperature after every break etc.
Around noon, while the workshop was on, we noticed a flurry of activity around the room. Everyone checked there phones almost at the same time. “The government may announce a lock-down today at 6:00. I hope we can wrap up to get home in time” a participant said. “SIX!!”. Taking into account the dreaded Manila traffic, I really needed to expedite this meeting.
Moreover, if the lock-down is from today. How will my colleagues and I get home too. “What happens in a lock-down” I ask. Everyone shrugged. No one has ever experienced a lock-down before.
“Let’s wait and watch” a Philippino colleague chimed in.
An hour later, finally an official announcement comes in. PRIME MINISTER TO ADDRESS THE NATION AT 6. So no lock-down yet. But the chances of a lock-down are high. On a positive note, our workshop runs faster than usual. The “end of the world” feeling and focus seem to work well together.
The other announcement:
We get back to the hotel and receive yet another update. My home country’s Prime Minister is making an announcement of his own. “PM LEE TO ADDRESS THE NATION AT 8”. So two head of countries making announcements within two hours. Is this truly “ the end of the world” I wonder.
Liquid courage and the announcement:
We all decided to have a bit of liquid courage along with some great Greek food in a place nearby. If the world is not going to look the same tomorrow, at-least have some yummy food and sip a rosé.
The restaurant (which is a top rated one) is almost empty! Not a good sign. We wait for updates from Philippines government. But none come. The announcement is fashionably late.
The food is great, the wine is fantastic and the service five stars. So glad I didn’t sit in the room watching the same news over and over again.
Finally around 8 both the Prime Minister’s start making announcements. Our grab driver has the radio on. Duterte is addressing the country. I cannot make out much. The announcement is in Filippino. Our hotel security guard maneuvers the radio and the thermometer almost perfectly. No one wants to miss a single second of what Mr President is saying. We can literally hear his voice echo all across the empty hotel hall. But they sound scary.
About an hour later, I can google the update. Manila will be on a lock-down from Sunday night. No sea, land or air travel to Manila. “Is this for domestic or all international travelers” ,I wonder. “Doesn’t matter let us get out as soon as possible” my head says.
Our return flight at noon is cancelled, instead we get a late night flight back to the safety of Singapore. Not too happy with lesser flying options, but glad that the option exists. In another NEWS, the PM Lee from Singapore is calming the public down. Long live the great governance of Singapore.
Day 2/2 : Saying goodbyes
Our Philippines colleagues want to continue with the workshop. “We did the panic buying last week” one says. “I need to know how to work from Monday, I need to be in office to figure it out anyway” says another.
Our colleagues get to thinking about what it means to work from home. Wrapping their minds around a new way of working. End of the world scenario is a little confusing and out of our comfort zones.
I may be generalizing here. Filipinos are happy people. Stress and smiles can co-exist. Of course, the Japanese snacks we got for the workshop are disappearing at a much faster rate. Comfort eating is getting re-defined in front of my eyes.
We take our car to the airport, the traffic is 1.2x the usual Manila Friday traffic (read: it is crawling).
The Jam-packed Airport:
For the past month, most airports look ghosted. But today the Manila airport is crazy full. Long long lines waiting to check-in to the flight at 7:30 pm. I check my watch, it is just 2:00 right now.
I haven’t witnessed such big crowds in a while now. This cannot be good to curb the spread of COVID-19 I wonder. I touch my mask to make sure it fits snugly. I reach out for the sanitizer in my bag. I am reassured.
The lines are long but this may be one of the last few days before there are lines again at Manila.
The lounge is all stocked up. The range of food and liquor is the widest I have seen in past 18 months. If no one is coming from tomorrow, lets finish off everything today!
The flight:
The flight is at 80% of its capacity. Maybe the first time in past month. My colleague sneezes thru her mask (it’s a harmless sneeze), everyone behind us give us a bit of a look. Thanks to the masks, all we see are suspicious eyes.
The Touchdown and the after-effects:
After 3 hrs of flying, we are back to the base. My phone buzzes. The company security team has sent a mail. “Please avoid all non-business critical travel to Philippines. Use your discretion”. The mail is just 48 hours late. But thank you.
Day 2 of arriving, the Government of Singapore announces a stay at home notice for all those who traveled to ASEAN countries. The order is active from Monday. Did I make it in time to avoid the order, or will I need to stay at home? It’s a mystery to be solved.
Meanwhile, I download all indoor exercise apps and register for the free trial. I also decide to finally start writing. If the world is going to look different from tomorrow — let me do to the one thing I always wanted to do-TO WRITE.