Easter 2020 will probably be the most memorable Easter Sunday we will have.
 
We all have seen — and regrettably, a few of us have become victims of — a pandemic which has risen to become a global tragedy, unravelling before us scenes of empty streets and empty malls, overcrowded hospitals and converted facilities with suffering COVID patients, long queues of people at groceries and drugstores.

We have of course experienced crises before — the Asian financial crisis in 1997, and the Wall Street meltdown of 2008 (the Lehman Brothers failure).  And epidemics of malaria and influenza and, more recently, SARS. 
 
But COVID-19 is a very different phenomenon, because it is a health crisis that brings with it painful financial consequences, and disruption to lives and businesses the scale and scope of which are, quite simply, unprecedented. 

This is a disruption which has put an abrupt stop to the normal routine of daily lives,  led to financial difficulties to businesses, grief to those afflicted by the virus.  Suddenly and sharply, our way of life has been changed — by something we cannot see.

Focus on Fundamentals

Will these exceptional times require exceptional action from us?

Rather than take exceptional steps, I prefer that we turn to the  innate strengths of our Group – to our fundamentals, to those principles that are proven and battle tested and basic – and to our people, the bedrock of our businesses.

Those principles start with three (3) key elements, which we must focus on during this pandemic:

• First, protect and support our employees
• Second, continue to service our customers — individuals, large corporate, MSMEs  
• Third, work with all levels of Government in lifting the welfare of the broader community
   

But for us to continue serving these 3 important constituents during this disruption, it is important that we keep our businesses going as best as we can:  we must keep the lights on, people connected, water flowing, and care for those infected by the virus.

My Special Thanks 

I am pleased with and grateful to many of you who Work From Home these past 30 days.  I would like to send my special thanks to our people in the field — our Sales Force, our Network crew, Repairs and Installs, our Logistics and Warehouse personnel, our Distributors, our miners in Benguet — thank you for your courage, tenacity, and dedication.  To those locked down in our offices all over the country — my special thanks too for your patience and industry.  To the doctors, nurses, and health staff in our hospitals — yours is the riskiest profession, and we owe you an inestimable debt of gratitude.

Indeed what defines us in these times is the positive attitude we are taking:  accepting the harsh realities which COVID brings, carrying on with our duties despite the disruption, braving the risks by being out there in the field.   If we stay committed and united and resolute, I am confident we will pull through this crisis, and become a better version of ourselves, and a better business.  No doubt, COVID will change all of us and the way we live and work, but we must neither be daunted nor reduced by it.

This week of  collective Crucifixion is about to end.   We are still making our way — step by painful step — to our Calvary, with no clear idea of when redemption may come.  It is therefore paramount that each of us faithfully follows the rules — stay at home, wear masks, clean your hands often, keep social distancing — knowing that each day we persevere brings us closer to that day of redemption.

Comfort from Grief

Perhaps we can take some comfort from this global grief.  The air is cleaner, the skies are bluer, families get closer and, most importantly, we are all learning how to work from home, how to communicate digitally, how to work together from a distance.  We are also beginning to appreciate the value of the Internet, to realize how basic utilities can make lives under quarantine that much easier — something we take for granted in normal times.  And I can see we are making decisions quicker.

I wish I could say that an end is in sight for COVID.  As of now, we still cannot see the peak, much less reached it. So there will be more to endure in this month of April.  Which brings to mind the opening lines of the poem by T.S. Eliot (“The Waste Land”), widely regarded as one of the major literary works of the 20th century:  “ April is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.”

It Will Take Time to Recover

And when we do  reach that summit, hopefully by end April or early May, I am sure we will all be relieved because it is the beginning of the end.  I am sorry to say this but realistically, we should not expect to see the pandemic to end as quickly as it started.  Viruses  do not simply keel over and die.  Instead, a tail would likely emerge from the apex, the shape and length of which will be determined by how well we manage the virus’s exit.  This could take a few more weeks, or a few more months.

Which means it will take time for us and for our businesses to recuperate to normal.  It will take time for us to  overcome our fear of joining social gatherings or  business meetings.  It will take time for malls, hotels, and restaurants to recover their trade.  It will take time for our Tollways and Light Rail to regain their previous traffic.  It will take time for all of us – individuals and businesses — to rebuild and to heal.

Agony in the Garden

Which brings me ab ovo — to this Holy Week.  It is a time to pause, to reboot, to reflect in prayer or meditation.  At this point, I would like you to recall with me what I believe to be the most moving part of the New Testament — Christ’s Agony in the Garden.

Picture this human being, kneeling against a rock at night — distressed and tormented — anticipating the tremendous physical torture he will soon endure, going through a near-mystical experience (“the dark night of the soul”) to the point where “In great anguish, he prayed even more fervently; his sweat like drops of blood falling to the ground.” A son pleading to his father. “Father, if you will, take the cup of suffering away from me.  Not my will, but yours will be done.”

And when Jesus finally knew the will of His Father – that moment of acceptance must have lifted the burden of His dying for all of us – because His reason for dying has been affirmed.  If Jesus had somehow refused the Cross that night,  I wonder where we would all be?

Closing

A number of you have asked me if this scourge has put your jobs at risk.

The answer is — No.

At the onset of the crisis, the Senior Management of each of our businesses met and agreed on plans to deal with the effects on each company.  The paramount considerations are to fortify our Balance Sheets and protect our Cash Flows over an assumed life of the pandemic.  Cash to pay your salaries and benefits; cash to run our businesses so we continue serving our customers; cash to procure protective devices and medical equipment for frontliners and our hospitals; cash to assist the Government in its social assistance and amelioration programs.  Profit in this period has temporarily taken a back seat to cash — not that it is no longer important — our marching orders are in fact to preserve as much as we have originally budgeted.

I am pleased to tell you that our Balance Sheets are strong and Cash Flows even under a prolonged period of the pandemic are more than sufficient to carry us through.

You have steady hands on the tiller, and the ship itself is sturdy.  So I assure all of you: our companies are safe, your jobs are safe, and you and your families are safe.

I hope that years from today, we can all look back at this experience and be proud of ourselves:  for serving our customers who rely on us for our service; for serving our shareholders by keeping the businesses operating despite a difficult environment; for serving thousands of families, in and out of our companies, who depend on us for their future.  You are bearers of torches that gave light to the dark corners of our country — not just mirrors passively reflecting the light of others.

This Sunday of resurrection into life brings to mind scenes nowadays of COVID patients being discharged from hospitals, being  cheered loudly by doctors, nurses, and health workers for their triumph over the virus as they exit.  While they do not rise to the level of the divine like Christ’s Resurrection, I cannot fail to be moved by the demonstration of compassion and care, by the giving and sharing.

This is close to a sublime experience one can have, even if it were only a feeble reflection of Christ’s Agony and Resurrection.  Nonetheless, it still gives us a humble glimpse of that lofty Mystery which surrounds us all.

Finally, if there is one abiding lesson to emerge from Easter and this pandemic – playwright Aeschylus probably says it best:  “In our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.”

God bless all of you.  God bless our companies.  And God bless our country.  A blessed Easter!