The sustainability of the ASEAN Economy under the COVID-19 situation

Thailand, Malaysia … and my country, the Philippines, have always grown together, fought wars
and survived disasters, hand in hand. And now, we have a new combat. We all knew that our
environment has grown to become hostile because of the humanity’s toxic behavior, however, it has
never been like this. Because of the novel coronavirus that spread from China and all over the globe,
the hostility became violent, ravaging throughout all nooks and crannies of our community, until it all
got out of hand.
Honestly, as a native of my culture, who treasures dearly the value of family, I was less
concerned on economic recession, but rather on how every family at every country is doing right now.
Do they have food to eat, clothes to wear, a place for shelter and most importantly the faith that
they’re gonna make it through until tomorrow and the days that will come? I wonder how poor
families are dealing with the covid 19 pandemic, considering how they already suffered from an
unsettled life even before the pandemic took place.
Why am I highlighting this? These same people that are in dire need of help during these times
are the ones that will also help our own countries to foster and grow to become developed countries.
These are the same people that no matter how poor, still pay for taxes, follow the laws of the
constitution and help in maintaining peace and order in their own communities.
In the long term, we all will suffer still, if our economy will fall down. But I believe, as long as we
do not neglect the poor and the needy, provide the attention they need and help them to survive just
like the way we want our economies to grow, we will all make it and we’ll see each other at the new
frontier.
I hope, that no country in the ASEAN Nations would be too greedy for the covid 19 vaccines and
recognize the needs of the neighboring countries also, so that we will all make it together, and rise
from the dread that this virus has brought us into. Let us all remember that our people is our
workforce, and loosing them would also mean loosing the people that work for the economy. Just like
a family, let us not neglect our brothers and sisters out there, so that we could make this place we live
in, a home, and not just one, but a beautiful, bountiful HOME.