Name: Coleen Margarette A.

Yare Date: November 8, 2022

Subject: Select Theories in the Applied Teacher: Mr. Daryl James Valdez
Social Sciences (AS 1)

Task 2: Views of Society

Asian, European, and American influences have all been present throughout the
Philippines' long history. The needs of the family come before those of the individual in
the collectivist culture that is present in the Philippines. Filipinos place a high
importance on social peace and sustaining harmonious relationships, hence they
frequently refrain from sharing their genuine opinions or breaking bad news. Society in
the Philippines has been changing little by little as years pass by and we can visibly see
and feel these changes. It has been very different compared to how it is now. There are
a lot of factors that have changed and replaced for the country’s development as well as
the well-being of the Filipinos.

From what I remember of society in the past is that the economy of the country
was well-established which resulted in the Philippines being placed third alongside
China and Vietnam for top performing economies in years 2010 to 2018, when the
Super Typhoon Yolanda or Haiyan had struck the Philippines in 2013 and all Filipinos
helped each other to rebuild what the natural calamity had destroyed. I remember when
I was just 10 years old, watching the news of field reporters going around the affected
areas and families to let the other regions see how bad the situation was and how the
families were greatly affected by the typhoon. After the weather calmed down a bit,
thousands of Filipinos opened up donation drives to be able to help the families that
were affected—that somewhat gave me hope that humanity still is present and
continues to live on in Filipino culture. Another thing that I remember from the past was
the AlDub phenomenon. Love teams are created, not born; nonetheless, AlDub broke
this long-standing rule in Philippine show business on July 16, 2015, when two
reasonably well-known young stars were unintentionally matched up and ignited a
craze. I was about 12 years old when this happened. It was one of the things that every
Filipino anticipated every noon and families would watch the noon segment together
while having lunch. It made me realize at that point that all of us were interested in one
similar thing and were able to enjoy it together as a family and as a whole nation.
Another memorable event from the past that I remember was from 2016 when Rodrigo
Duterte was appointed to be the country’s president. Three years into the strongman
rule of one of the most divisive presidents in Philippine history, the government's war on
drugs, his frequently provocative speech, and the frequently criticized alliance with
China have overshadowed any gains made by his administration. A lot of Filipinos
believed in our former president, although some of his platforms did not go to plan due
to certain circumstances, he still was able to help and change the Philippines into a
country that people can be proud of and safe to be living in. The events that had
occurred in the past had made me realize that our country’s society before was not so
chaotic and we were able to live harmoniously.

Let us move forward to the present society in our country. Despite being in the
early stages of a worldwide pandemic, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has killed
more people than the SARS coronavirus. On January 22, 2020, the first suspected case
was investigated in the Philippines, and as of March 1, 633 suspected cases have been
recorded. The first two confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, who were both
admitted to the national infectious disease referral hospital in Manila, are described in
terms of their clinical and epidemiological features. Through its Inter-Agency Task Force
on Emerging Infectious Diseases, the national government of the Philippines outlined
various quarantine measures with varying degrees of rigidity, from allowing all
establishments to operate at a certain capacity to keeping only the essential businesses
open. This was done in order to lessen the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other
restrictions include preventing people of a particular age from leaving their homes.
Depending on the severity of the pandemic in their area, the local government units
(LGUs), which include municipalities and provinces, may choose to implement any of
these steps. The goal is to limit the spread of diseases and mortality while limiting the
pandemic's financial burden. Some LGUs have shown a surprising ability to react to the
COVID-19 epidemic.
 When the Philippines had its first COVID-19 case, there were major changes and
adjustments not only to the government but also to our society. People had become
greedy for supplies, especially face masks, alcohol, wet wipes, paper towels and
tissues. The supply of food was also shortened because of the panic buying of the
people in order to survive the lockdown. It is understandable that people wanted to
stock supplies and food but the fact that panic buying was rampant during the early
weeks and months of COVID-19 had me a little disheartened as some people (who
really did not need those supplies) did not leave enough food and supplies for those
who really needed it.

However on a positive note, when lockdown was implemented throughout the

country, there have been significant improvements to our environment. Major cities saw
brighter skies as a result of a significant reduction in vehicle emissions. The thickness
and recovery of the ozone layer. Tourist destinations including hills, forests, and
seashores now have less pollution. Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic generally
has highly positive effects on the global ecology. The investments in clean technologies
will be affected by COVID-19's long-term effects on climate change. The economy's
slowdown will cause a substantial drop in energy consumption, which will lead to a
sharp reduction in wind, solar, and battery technology development from 2020 to 2021.
Aside from the drastic improvement of our environment, people were able to start up
and open new businesses, make and follow trends in social media that helped entertain
people despite the ongoing virus that is happening, even up until this day. Needless to
say, it had been difficult to fully adjust to the “new normal” 2 years ago. From the sudden
implementation of lockdown, the closing of schools to shifting in online classes, the
limited number of people that can go out of the house, the price increase of foods and
supplies. Now, to the present time, the number of cases of COVID-19 has been
gradually decreasing. Schools are now opening up and are ready to go back to full
face-to-face classes after 2 years of online classes, establishments and businesses are
fully accepting more and more customers.
 For our future, I am hoping that more people will be cautious in every place they
go and visit, always follow safety precautions or measures, disinfect everything that you
use so that we can finally live in a place that is COVID free. For our future society, I am
hoping that all of us will unite in making our country a better place for us to live in
comfortably and safely.