Testing 1, 2, 3…

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

As of 4 p.m. today, the Philippines reports 538 new cases of confirmed corona virus cases –so far the highest jump in a day. There are now 2,084 confirmed corona virus cases in the country, including 49 recoveries and 88 deaths.

Days before this, Department of Health (DoH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire had prepared us for an “artificial rise” in the number of cases as the department improved its testing capacity and reduced its backlog with the addition of more testing laboratories and the arrival of testing kits from other countries.

Since the outbreak began, only the DoH’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa has been testing samples of COVID-19. This function was extended on March 19, 2020 to five subnational laboratories that were cleared as testing centers by the World Health Organization (WHO).

These are the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center in Baguio City; San Lazaro Hospital in Manila City; University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health, Manila; Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City; and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.

Also, some 168,000 test kits have arrived in the Philippines:  a donation of 100,000 from China and 43,000 from Singapore, and an importation of 25,000 from South Korea.

The Philippines can now run 1,000 tests per day from the previous daily average of 300, said Health Secretary Francisco Duque last March 30.

Today, National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 chief implementer, Peace Process Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. says there are plans to carry out “massive testing” of persons under monitoring (PUM) and persons under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19, as well as health workers on the front lines of battling the pandemic.

Widespread testing is crucial in the fight against the pandemic as it allows health authorities to isolate and treat infected people.

However, the country is only just now gaining traction in terms of equipping itself to fight the disease on the medical front. Aside from increasing testing centers and acquiring more test kits, our health authorities also need qualified testing personnel.

This is just about testing. There’s a host of other problems regarding treatment that range from overflowing hospitals, lack of hospital equipment, lack of personal protective gear for health frontliners, etc.

So, testing…1, 2, 3.  We’ve just stepped up to the mike. We aren’t singing yet.

No work, no pay

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the rapid spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

It’s past 3 p.m. before I remember to give our help her salary. I could kick myself.

Poor Fedela must have been wondering if she should remind me about her salary. I know her well enough to say that she may have kept quiet about it, knowing I would have to go out to an ATM to get the cash to pay her.

She confirms it, telling me that I could put it off till my next food run since we are taking care of her needs anyway. I am touched and thank her, but I remind her that while she may not need it for herself right now, she has family members in the province who are not as well placed.

She hesitates, but only for a moment. Now that Cebu Province is under enhanced community quarantine, most of her immediate family members have had to leave their jobs in the city and are now in their home town. No work, no pay.

Two of her nieces, she says, were asked to join a skeletal work force at an export processing zone (EPZ) but the mother felt that the risk of them getting stranded in the city at such an uncertain time was too great. Almost all of the companies in the EPZ have closed shop and let their workers go. Some were given wages; others, food packs; and the rest, nothing.

She also disclosed that several of her relatives work for just one firm manufacturing a popular food pasalubong, albeit in different branches. When the firm decided to close shop for the duration of the lockdown, all of them lost their sources of income. Only some received cash subsidies, the rest got food packs.

Photo taken from Top Gear Phils.

These stories are replicated all over the country. Only the names and the circumstances are different. Latest Labor Force Survey figures put the number of informal sector workers at 15.6 million, or 38% of the total working population of the country.¹ This sector includes ambulant vendors, jeepney drivers, domestic helpers, tricycle drivers, and other daily wage earners.

Some of them have a family member/s who continue/s to provide a basic service at this time, like a bank security guard, supermarket cashier, hospital cleaner, purified drinking water delivery boy, etc. There’s money coming in, but it is not enough to cover for the loss of income from the rest. 

The rest, well...they look to government and civic-minded individuals, groups and companies for help.

When President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire Philippines under a six-month state of calamity last March 16, he allowed national and local governments to access their quick response funds to bankroll COVID-19 interventions.

This is how local government units (LGUs) were able to buy food packs which, in most cases, were distributed a week after the effectivity of the lockdown.

The Department of Social Welfare and Distribution (DSWD) was supposed to follow through with additional assistance. But in its twitter account, the agency reports that “as of 6 a.m., 30 March 2020, a total of P46,638,918.97 worth of Family Food Packs have been distributed by DSWD Field Offices in response to the requests of LGUs for resource augmentation.”

So many barangays are still waiting for those family food packs. 

On March 25, the President signed the "Bayanihan to Heal as One Act," which gives him, among others, the power to give 18 million low-income families P5,000 to P8,000 in emergency cash aid, depending on the prevailing minimum wage in the region.

I was listening to DSWD Director Irene Dumlao being interviewed over DZMM’s special coverage of the COVID-19  Pandemic a while ago, and she could not even give an estimate as to when the agency could start giving the emergency cash aid.

The President’s emergency powers also allow him to augment the budget for the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) and COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP).

Under CAMP, DOLE has P1.3 billion to provide a one-time P5,000 cash aid for about 250,000 quarantine displaced workers. 

Meanwhile, TUPAD-BKBK (Barangay Ko, Bahay Ko) is a P180-million emergency employment program that pays some 18,000 informal sector workers minimum wage to disinfect homes around their area.

All that money looks good on paper. I'm sure it would look even better in the hands of those that need it. Eventually.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of March 30, the Philippines has reported 1,546 confirmed corona virus cases, including 42 recoveries and 78 deaths.

¹Patty Pasion, “FAST FACTS: What you need to know about PH's informal sector workers”, May 09, 2017, https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/169006-fast-facts-philippines-informal-sector-workers

Let’s volt in!

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

Our youngest sister gave me the idea for the title of this post when she posted a photo of the five characters of the very popular Japanese anime which aired in 1978 on Philippine TV in reply to another sister’s FB post of all five of us sisters in a video call.

Photo: Voltes V Game
FB account

“Let’s volt in!” was the battlecry of Steve, Big Bert and Little John Armstrong, along with Jamie Robinson and Mark Gordon when they would merge their battleships into a gigantic fighting robot.

Today, we “volted in” on FB messenger to chat. Three of us are in different parts of the country while two are abroad, all staying home in compliance with measures to restrict movement and reduce the chances of exposure to and infection of the corona virus disease (COVID-19).

The idea came from the second to the eldest, who lives in the West Coast, and is considered the techie in the family. Of course, she initiated the call and all we had to do was accept the video call.

It was a first for us. Calls using VoIP technology were usually just between two sisters before this.

It was a riot at first. Our eldest kept disappearing from view, all the while muttering that she could not see any of us. When she finally got it right, we found ourselves speaking to her nose.

Then, we notice that our youngest has makeup on. When the ribbing finally dies down, techie sis tries for some sense of order by asking that we give each other updates starting with the eldest.

Our eldest, a.k.a The Nose, decides to show us her food provisions.  We forget the order of conversing after that. Food does that to those under home quarantine, although techie sis says her problem is toilet paper. At this, her third world sisters laugh.

Since I am entering my third week of quarantine, they ask me how strict the guidelines are under the Luzon lockdown and I tell them that movement is restricted, but that I have a quarantine pass which gets me through the checkpoint right outside our village.

Do I get checked? Of course, I do. Only those with a quarantine pass and wearing a face mask gets through. My second time out, I am asked to return home because I am not wearing one.

Our youngest announces she has already applied for a blue pass which will enable her to enter and leave the city. She lives in a town outside the city which closed its borders just yesterday.

Our second to the youngest, who I will describe as our kitchen wiz, notices that youngest sis is outside the house. The signal is weak inside, our youngest explains then circles her house so we can see it from the outside.  As she pans her camera phone, we see her son sweeping the yard then later, another one who checks who she is talking to because apparently, she is talking too loudly.

This is why she’s taking the call in her basement, kitchen wiz says. She does not want to disturb the rest of the household because in the East Coast, it’s her youngest son’s bedtime and the rest are settling down for the night.

Techie sis says her husband has already complained she is talking too loudly, and he appears in the background as if on cue. My voice gets lost in the babble greeting him. She tells him that if he keeps complaining, she will put him under quarantine. This cracks us up.  

I pan my phone so they can see my daughter eating breakfast, but she is too far away to notice the greetings. Instead, hubby shows up to say hi and his ever-enthusiastic sidekick of a dog almost knocks the phone out of my hand.

Since it’s a Sunday in the Philippines, we talk about attending online masses and techie sis shares that she sometimes is unsure about when to stand or sit down or kneel. Kitchen wiz and I look at each other in disbelief. We sit throughout the mass.

At this point, The Nose, who has been disappearing every now and then, says she needs to finish her laundry.

No one had noticed the time, which passed too quickly because we were laughing and unintentionally cutting each other off in our excitement to be seeing and talking to each other all at once. 

We agree to “volt in” the same time, same day next week and end the call. All, except The Nose, who appears to have a problem turning her camera off.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of March 29, the Philippines has reported 1,418 confirmed corona virus cases, including 42 recoveries and 71 deaths.

A different bottom line

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

For as long as I can remember, I have been monitoring fuel price adjustments so that I will know whether to gas up (or not) before 6 a.m. every Tuesday, when oil companies implement them at the retail stations.

Now, I no longer remember the last time I refueled the car. It’s a shame, really, since fuel prices keep going down. But the tank is still almost full and I barely drive anywhere so it’s no use getting excited over oil price rollbacks while the country is under enhanced community quarantine due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

Motorists and commuters are confined to their homes; offices, establishments and even points of entry like airports and piers are closed, and manufacturing firms are operating at half-capacity, if at all.

Like most industries, the oil and gas industry is taking a hit big-time. The coronavirus outbreak has triggered a double problem - the drop in oil’s value and the resulting price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Yet gas stations remain open because fuel is vital for those who need to get to and from hospitals, buy food and medicine, man assigned checkpoints, and deliver food and important documents.

Shell has even made these stations pick-up points and rest stops for front liners with its SELECT stores serving free food products for health care workers, police force, military men, and logistics drivers.

Some gas station owners have also helped donate food packs and portable washing facilities to military and health front liners. I have not refueled for a while now so I would not know, but I’ve heard that a Shell station nearby also distributes Vitamin-C packets for customers. Free fuel, too, but only for accredited vehicles under partnerships lodged with certain bus and forwarding companies to transport healthcare professionals as well as critical goods.

Shell has over a thousand gas stations all over the country, which means that attendants, Deli2Go staff, dispatchers, drivers, mechanics and other personnel continue earning during the quarantine period.

Sales are low so it must be a struggle to keep these stations open. The same goes for Shell’s refinery in Batangas and depots like the North Mindanao Import Facility in Cagayan – one of many strategically-situated storage terminals and supply points across the country integral to supply and distribution.

Like other big companies, Shell reaches deep into its pockets not only to take care of employees, but also to help where it can, especially in communities where its facilities are located. 

(L-R) Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI)  Project Officer
Gary Aliggayu, Pasacao Municipal Administrator Felix Morandarte,
and PSFI Project Officer Noah Portuguez check the goods
 for distribution to targeted indigent families. 

A thousand indigent families in Pasacao, a third-class town in Camarines Sur in the Bicol region where a Shell terminal is located, are getting relief goods from the company in partnership with the town government.

National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab has also lauded Shell for donating PhP4 million through the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) to Bayanihan Musikahan, a marathon online concert series aimed at raising funds to buy and distribute family packs containing food and protection kits for displaced workers in impoverished Metro Manila communities.

Shell Country Health Advisor Dr. Rose Rivera (3rd from right) 

leads Shell officials in turning over 3,000 pieces of N95 face masks 

to Department of Health (DoH) Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje.

Also in photo are (L-R) Shell Country Occupational Health Nurse 

Patrick Jeremillos and DoH Director Gloria Balboa, 

Assistant Secretary (Asec.) Kenneth Ronquillo, 

Undersecretaries Gerry Bayugo and Maria Rosario Vergeire 

and Asec. Nestor Santiago.

Less conspicuous are efforts to support frontliners who have been tirelessly working to flatten the curve - 10,000 N95 face masks and 330 PPE sets to the Department of Health and UP-Philippine General Hospital, as well as drinking water to seven hospitals.

Companies big and small, even those cash-strapped, are finding ways to take care of their own. But more is expected of big ones like Shell and even those that Duterte has called out in the past for water issues, like the Manny Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and the Ayala Corporation.

They’re responding big-time and then some, redefining their bottom lines according to their values.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of March 28, the Philippines has reported 1,075 confirmed corona virus cases, including 35 recoveries and 68 deaths.

Red Arm Band

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

It was during the televised “Laging Handa” press briefing last March 25 that I first saw the red arm band on Department of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire
Photo: Screengrab from PTV

When asked about it, she says, “Ito po ay isang sensyales ng pagsuporta po natin, lalong-lalo na po sa ating mga healthcare workers, lalong-lalo na po sa ating mga namatay na doktor at doon po sa ating lahat ng healthcare workers na sa ngayon ay patuloy pa ring lumalaban , inaalagaan po ang lahat ng mga pasyente sa lahat ng ospital dito sa Pilipinas (This is a sign of our support, especially for the doctors who have died and the health workers who continue to fight and care for the patients here in the Philippines).”

She touches the red band she is wearing around her upper right arm, saying “I encourage everyone to wear this to show support for them.”

Among the frontliners who passed away during the COVID-19 war are Philippine Pediatric Society President Dr. Salvacion “Sally” Gatchalian, Pampanga health chief Dr. Marcelo Jaochico, cardiologist and internist Raul Jara, young cardiologist Israel Bactol of the Philippine Heart Center, anesthesiologist Gregorio Macasaet III of Manila Doctors Hospital, and oncologist Rose Pulido of the San Juan de Dios Hospital.

Barely an hour later, there is a Viber message from a friend, who is urging us to join a Red Ribbon campaign and show our support for those working in the health sector by tying red ribbons on our gates, cars, etc.

I support efforts to acquire or manufacture more N95 masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers. These efforts, I think, are directly felt by those who need them most.

Much as I want to, I do not have the funds to help acquire more ventilators for hospitals or provide housing for health workers near the hospitals where they work. But I laud those who can and do.

But I understand why my friend is endorsing the campaign because as she says, “at least it’s something visible for them or their families. We need to support them too with our prayers and by staying home.”

I know that several members of her family work in the frontlines. I discover that many members in a mutual FB group also have daughters, sons, cousins and other relatives who work in the health sector.

I, too, have a brother-in-law, a niece and her husband, and distant relatives who work in the health sector abroad. They will not see the red ribbon on my gate. So I also post it as my profile picture.

It costs me nothing, and it may perk up someone who sees it on my wall or an unknown health worker who lives in my village as he or she passes our gate.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of March 27, the Philippines has reported 803 confirmed corona virus cases, including 31 recoveries and 54 deaths.

More lockdowns

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

I have family back in Cebu so I monitor what’s happening in the Queen City of the South.

This morning, I find that during the night, Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia signed Executive Order (EO) 5-N placing Cebu Province under a state of enhanced community quarantine “to allow more stringent measures to be implemented in order to prevent the further spread” of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Before this, the Provincial Government had been trying to avoid a lockdown for economic reasons even as it sought to impose strict control over passengers arriving at airports and seaports to protect the province from the threat of COVID-19.

More measures to restrict movement followed. A curfew, initially imposed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in all the towns and cities, was later expanded to 24 hours for all students as well as persons aged 65 years old and above.

Mall hours were shortened, cinemas closed, restaurants were restricted from accepting dine-in patrons, people hoarded goods and prices went up, but the threat remained at bay. As long as they observed social or physical distancing, people exempted from the curfew could still move around.

Photo taken from SunStar Cebu FB account

That has changed. Although there is only one confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Province , particularly in Mandaue City, there are a total of nine "presumptive" positive cases in the province: seven in Cebu City and one each in the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, according to the Department of Health.

A resolution from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) states that a province-wide quarantine is advised when there are at least two positive COVID-19 cases from different towns within the province.

The lockdown takes effect in Cebu City on 12 noon of March 28, Lapu-Lapu City on March 28, with the cities of Mandaue and Talisay and the rest of the province following on March 30.

I had hoped and prayed that COVID-19 would not affect any more of my family.  But all this time, I think we all knew it was bound to happen. Certainly, no one is surprised at the turn of events. 

Now, we all wait it out and do what we can to ensure that we and others stay safe during this crisis.

God help us all.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of March 26, the Philippines has reported 707 confirmed corona virus cases, including 28 recoveries and 45 deaths.

A Prayer

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

I do not think I can keep this up.

I read more and more posts about health personnel contracting the virus, the infected dying alone, priests who want to minister the last rites but cannot, the lack of face masks and personal protective equipment for those in the frontlines…

I see the number of COVID-related cases climb, knowing this is not even accurate since there is no mass testing.

I see people ignoring the call for social or physical distancing, still milling around in public areas and forcing government to send more men to implement curfews and other quarantine guidelines.

I read about government leaders demanding that they and their families be tested for COVID-19 before those who display the symptoms of having contracted the virus.

I wait for the President to come out on TV after having been granted emergency powers in the hope he finally says something concrete about what he intends to do with it.  He says “thank you” and … nothing else, which is probably why local government units and agencies are once again scrambling to push for their needs and maximize the granting of those emergency powers.

The lack of direction is disheartening and depressing. I will tune out for a while and feed my soul – whether it’s with a book, a movie or continued conversations with family – all within the confines of home.

I am beginning to highlight what’s wrong at the expense of what’s right. There are many stories of good prospering through the efforts of some enlightened and active government leaders; there are many acts of volunteerism and goodwill from all sectors of society. I must not forget that.

So I will step back, but I will continue praying that health workers be protected, that the infected get well and that the poor be given timely and sustained aid and provisions and that everyone will do their part and stay home for the duration of the lockdown.

And yes, I will also be selfish and pray for myself, my family and the people I know and love, and thank God that He continues to protect us.

I hope you do, too.

A Prayer Amid an Epidemic

By Kerry Weber, executive editor of America

Jesus Christ, you traveled through towns and villages “curing every disease and illness.” At your command, the sick were made well. Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of the coronavirus, that we may experience your healing love.

Heal those who are sick with the virus. May they regain their strength and health through quality medical care.

Heal us from our fear, which prevents nations from working together and neighbors from helping one another.

Heal us from our pride, which can make us claim invulnerability to a disease that knows no borders.

Jesus Christ, healer of all, stay by our side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow.

Be with those who have died from the virus. May they be at rest with you in your eternal peace.

Be with the families of those who are sick or have died. As they worry and grieve, defend them from illness and despair. May they know your peace.

Be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and help those affected and who put themselves at risk in the process. May they know your protection and peace.

Be with the leaders of all nations. Give them the foresight to act with charity and true concern for the well-being of the people they are meant to serve. Give them the wisdom to invest in long-term solutions that will help prepare for or prevent future outbreaks. May they know your peace, as they work together to achieve it on earth.

Whether we are home or abroad, surrounded by many people suffering from this illness or only a few, Jesus Christ, stay with us as we endure and mourn, persist and prepare. In place of our anxiety, give us your peace.

Jesus Christ, heal us.

DoH update: As of this writing, the Philippines has reported 636 confirmed corona virus cases, including 26 recoveries and 38 deaths.

Passing through

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

I got my quarantine pass today.

This means that I am the only one in our household authorized to leave the house to buy food and/or medicine during the quarantine.

There are no debates about whose name goes on the pass. My husband is our sole breadwinner and he is working from home. Also, I have always managed the house and run the household.

Feeling relieved that I finally have something to show should I run into a checkpoint, I decide to go on my first supermarket run since the quarantine.

What do you know. I emerge from the village and run smack into a checkpoint set up just outside the gate on a road that has become unrecognizable. Men in military uniform ask to see my pass. “Mag grocery lang po,” I tell them when asked where I am going.

They let me through and I drive very slowly along a deserted road. All the stores and stalls, save for a very few, are closed. This is the same road I pass almost every day. I have never found it deserted, even during the few times I had to return home from work very late at night.

I see the bakeshop is open, although no one is buying. The drugstore at the end of the street, too. There is no sign of activity.  I see another checkpoint where the road intersects the service road and I roll down my window again to show my pass and to tell the men I am going to the supermarket of a mall nearby.

Before they wave me through, I ask them if I would be allowed to pass through later, after doing the groceries. The man’s hesitation deepens my fear. But he tells me that as long as I have a pass and I am wearing a face mask, it would be no problem.

It is the shortest drive I have ever made to the supermarket. There is very little traffic.  The traffic is inside. I am greeted by a spurt of alcohol at the entrance and a temperature reading before I am led to chairs set a meter apart inside the mall. I am sooooo glad it is going to be a comfortable wait.

Batch by batch, we are sent up to the ground level, where the supermarket is located. When my batch is called, I get quite excited. We pass by a guard who sprays our hands yet again then we are led to chairs set a meter apart in front of the row of cashiers.  Again, our hands are sprayed and I am beginning to think I should not have showered before this, when our batch finally gets called in.

I get almost all items on my list and chat up the cashier and the bagger. I learn that the supermarket closes at 7 p.m., giving the workers just an hour to get home before the 8 p.m. curfew. “Almost all of us leave at 7:30 p.m.,” says the bagger.

Wouldn’t it be better if the mall closed at 6 p.m. then? I ask. The cashier says it certainly would, but immediately says it’s ok. “I am just glad to be working,” she says. The bagger agrees, saying that many of their friends working as cashier, merchandiser, promodiser and utility at the mall’s department store are not as lucky.

On the way home, I pass a smaller supermarket where people are standing in line by the side of the road.

The men stop me at the checkpoint but only to direct me to another road to get to our village. Much relieved, I start to drive away then impulsively pull out a pack of biscuits which I leave with the startled man in uniform. He shouts his thanks and I see his fellow soldiers approach him as I pull away.

It is a good feeling, but I am not planning on making another supermarket run anytime soon. I think I will stick close to home.

DoH update: As of this writing, the Philippines has reported 552 confirmed corona virus cases, including 20 recoveries and 35 deaths.

A Question of trust

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

I do not trust Government so I am leery of Malacañang’s request for Congress to grant the President emergency powers.

I do not see the big picture or the basis for the request. I know the needs are many, particularly from healthcare institutions and workers attending to an increasing number of COVID-19 infected persons, persons under investigation and persons under monitoring on top of those suffering from illnesses that will simply not disappear because there is a pandemic.

I know that as we deepen into the lockdown, barangays and local government units will find it increasingly hard to provide for their constituents, particularly the daily wage earners who can no longer feed their families.

I know that giving the President access to and control of more funds and privately-held resources mean more access to goods and services that can help our country minimize the negative impact of this pandemic.

But I do not know if we can trust a presidency where leaders have themselves and their families prioritized for testing, above those who really need it.

This is the same presidency which has broken so many promises regarding the drug war, the traffic situation and the endo, to name a few.

The is the presidency whose immediate act to flatten the curve is to limit the contagion via a lockdown, without provisions for the health sector – the ones who will be attending to those infected and monitoring those who are suspected of having contracted it -  so that transmission can be effectively monitored, treated and contained.

I do not see the big picture because none has been presented. All I am seeing is a day-to-day response and an Inter-agency Task Force on the management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) that is visible not only during the day, but also late into the night because it is when the President likes to work.

There will be no corruption or abuse, say the sponsors of House Bill 6166 or An Act to Declare the Existence of a National Emergency Arising from the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Situation. The said bill will be limited in scope and duration, they say.

They say it like they can predict how long we will be under a state of calamity.  They say it like they can speak for the President.  They speak for neither.

DoH update: As of this writing, the Philippines has reported 396 confirmed corona virus cases, including 18 recoveries and 33 deaths.

A frenzied response

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

I swear that if Fedela keeps up her cleaning, I will find myself lining up for cleaning, instead of food, supplies.

Ever since we've been under enhanced community quarantine, our help has leveled up her cleaning. I’ve never complained about how she keeps the house clean because she's great at it. Fedela, on the other hand, shows what she thinks of MY cleaning whenever she comes back from a vacation. She turns the house upside down, re-cleaning everything and then some.

Fedela is the kind who gets restless if she is not doing anything. But before the quarantine, she would slow down after lunch and rest before she goes off again, doing what she thinks she needs to do. Now, after she’s done cleaning, she’s rearranging the cabinets, poking around the ceiling, wiping down the walls and including the light bulbs in their sockets…

She’s offered to do the cooking, which is not part of her duties. It is mine, especially now that we have to be mindful of how much we put on the table so that we can prolong supplies and limit food runs.

I’ve had to stop her from watering the plants twice a day. There’s a shortage of water supply in Manila so once at night is enough. I’ve long drawn up a schedule when we wash the car and do the laundry, and I’ve had to tell her twice to keep to it.

It’s funny. I see to it that my daughter has enough to do, while I have to keep our help in check because she is overdoing things.

I sit down with her and ask her what she understands of the situation. She has it right and understands why we are under quarantine. When I ask her why she seems bent on scrubbing the house bare, she laughs nervously and fumbles in her explanation. She is anxious. She does not know when things can go back to normal, if they go back to normal. So she keeps busy. She cleans.

I try as best as I can to tell her that I am perfectly all right with the cleaning, but to let up because we are in for the long haul. She needs to find a way to slow down because at the rate she is going, she will burn out. I tell her I need her to be all right.

I later overhear her cheerfully talking in the dialect to someone on the phone. She’s still sweeping in the garden and removing our top soil while doing it, but I let it be. At least, she’s laughing.

Just a while ago, she asked to leave for the village store to get personal provisions. She came back much more cheerful like I knew she would. Even if she is able to talk with family and relatives back in Cebu, I know she needs to see that the world out there continues to turn, even if COVID-19 keeps us to our homes and slows down our pace of life.

I think it’s time I limit the watching of the news to certain hours and to our room. 

DoH update: As of this writing, the Philippines has reported 380 confirmed corona virus cases, including 15 recoveries and 25 deaths.

A sense of community

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

I am a resident of Parañaque City.

Previous employment, though, had me reporting to an office in Makati City. My husband also worked there for a long time before his office moved its headquarters elsewhere. My child also goes to a school in Makati, which is why I follow Mayor Abby Binay’s twitter account which tells me when there are class suspensions.

I get my groceries from a supermarket in Makati City because when I was working there, it was on my way home. I continue to patronize it because it is near my child’s school and the goods there are priced lower than in the supermarkets near my residence.

So when government started implementing measures to restrict the movement of people and goods only to the essential, I realized that I follow social media accounts and have access to a government and its agencies in a city where I don't live.

That’s when it hits home. The only time I feel I am a resident of Parañaque City is when I get a community tax certificate, pay the annual real estate tax and conduct other needed transactions at the City Hall.

I go online to get information on the hospital or health center that caters to residents like me should any of us show symptoms of the novel corona virus.

Curious, I check what Mayor Edwin Olivarez is doing. I "like" and follow him on FB and twitter, as well as Councilor Viktor Eriko “Wahoo” Sotto. I also bookmark the Parañaque City Government official website.

Photo taken from the FB Account
of Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez

In all of these accounts, the City’s COVID-19 hotlines are listed. I also learn that the good mayor has been going around, seeing to the disinfection of barangays. Today, the distribution of relief packs starts in barangays located in the city's first district.

I have not experienced any of these efforts yet, but I am sure I will soon. For about a week now, I have been following the news even to the wee hours of the morning, awaiting new guidelines and clarification of issues from the Inter-agency Task Force on the management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on the implementation of the operational guidelines on the enhanced community quarantine.

I realize that I should also follow news closer to home. The website tells me that as of this writing, there are five (5) confirmed cases in the city (and I know one of them is a resident of the nearby subdivision), and three persons under investigation (PUI) and three persons under monitoring (PUM) in our barangay. 

Now, more than ever, I feel the need to stay home.

Our dog’s frantic barking and an increasingly loud buzzing distracts me. Disinfecting is going on but it is quick. Is it supposed to be that quick?

I run to the gate and stare at the back of the men in blue uniform who are doing the disinfecting and who are already two houses away. I do not think they are from Parañaque, whose men don the City’s signature green uniform. I think they are from the housing association.

Nevertheless, I tell the rest of the household the COVID-19 hotline numbers, which I display near the landline, along with the numbers of the housing association administration, security office and the community care clinic nearby.

I hope we never use them.

DoH update: As of this writing, the Philippines has reported 262 confirmed corona virus cases, including 13 recoveries and 19 deaths.

Question without prejudice

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

I did not stay up to watch President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement which aired at 1 a.m. today. I have decided that I would rather read what he has to say via news reports that focus on what needs to be disseminated. He tends to ad lib and it just stresses me out.

But I will stay tuned to updates from his office because this much I will give him, he understands the importance of flattening the corona virus curve in a country unprepared in terms of equipment, facilities and expertise.

Duterte has also paved the way for leaders on the ground, who know their constituents best, to make decisions that will ensure their survival through this period.

It took me a while to understand why we have to be placed under enhanced community quarantine. I could not understand what “flattening the curve” means.

The idea of flattening the curve is to stagger the number of new cases over a longer period, so that people have better access to care.¹

In restricting the travel of people, the movement of goods and the provision of services to the essentials, Duterte is trying to cut transmission and to contain the virus as soon and as much as possible because there is no known vaccine against COVID-19. 

We simply do not have enough testing kits, hospitals and health personnel, should there be a sudden and dramatic increase in the number of the affected who will seek and need treatment.

But in prioritizing health over economy (many would argue that both are interrelated), Duterte should have prepared his leaders down the line so that the tricycle driver, the construction worker, the stay-out domestic and labandera, promo girls and merchandisers, ambulant food vendors and all other daily wage earners are protected and fed.

Right now, mayors are scrambling to address the problems in their localities while complying with the operational guidelines of the lockdown, which took a while to materialize. But once those guidelines were drafted, the Inter-Agency Task Force on the management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID)  has been monitoring what is happening on the ground and making the necessary modifications and additions to the guidelines on a daily basis.

Now, it is up to the mayors to implement the guidelines as best as they can within their localities while taking care of those displaced economically, particularly the daily wage earners. 

Some of these leaders shine like Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. Others? Well, I like to think that no news (particularly complaints) is good news. Just because they do not make the news does not mean they are not working.

Let me get to my point. Let’s be critical but kind. Better still, develop the ability to question without prejudice.

Stay tuned to credible news sources so that you know what’s happening and how it affects you. I try to catch the daily press cons held by the IATF-EID over PTV and the news reports aired, published and posted by credible traditional and online media.

There is no avoiding FB and Twitter so be discerning of what you read and hear. Be a responsible citizen also on social media. If you can check their accuracy, do so before sharing and forwarding posts on your feed.

If you must re-post, share what is true, useful and relevant. Try to be a positive contributor to the flow of information. There are people who get exasperated by prayers and prayer chains on FB, but let it be – these posts don’t really hurt anyone and may even help some people who seek comfort during this trying time.

Avoid grandstanding - making impassioned statements or general accusations that are not really directed at anyone, but read by everyone. If you really want to air a grievance or have something done, take the time to reach the person or agency who can do something about it. These days, everyone and every office usually has an FB or Twitter account or even a website where they can be reached.

DoH update: As of this writing, the Philippines has reported 230 confirmed corona virus cases, including 8 recoveries and 18 deaths.

¹ Sam Meredith, “Flattening the coronavirus curve: What this means and why it matters”,  March 19, 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-what-does-flattening-the-curve-mean-and-why-it-matters.html

A grocery run

(Part of an ongoing account started on March 13, 2020 of how the spread of COVID-19 in our country and our government’s response has affected our lives.)

For the first time in days, I am leaving the house to get some meat, fruits, vegetables and dog food. I call the village meat shop to check if they are open and if they are accepting reservations, like they did before the lockdown. 

The person on the other end apologizes. Things are now on a first-come, first-served basis, which makes sense to me. I tell her that I am just glad that the shop is open.

I am pleasantly surprised to see that there is a line outside the meat shop, with those in line standing at least a meter from each other. Once a customer leaves with purchased goods, the person manning the door calls one of us in. At least two senior citizens try to enter ahead of us, but they are asked to wait in line.

One of them decides to line up behind me. I offer her my place but she declines. She understands that these are abnormal times and she is prepared to do her bit.

When I get called, I am given a number so that shop personnel can wait on us in the order that we came in. I am fast about getting what I need and line up to pay, chatting up the cashier who I know since I am a long-time client.

From her, I learn that all of them are still reporting for work, except one who lives in Taguig City. She is unable to get through the checkpoint since Taguig has declared its own lockdown. The owner has assured that she will still be paid, nonetheless.

I transfer to the minimart nearby where I also line up with two small bottles of dishwashing liquid, which are just about what’s left on the shelf. The person in front of me grumbles that all she is getting is an ice cream sandwhich, which is slowly melting by the minute. I tell her she might want to start eating it and just pay for it when she reaches the counter. She laughs, confessing that it’s for her kid.

When it’s my turn to pay, the cashier notices that I have a lot of coins and asks me if she could exchange them with paper bills since she needs coins for change. I realize that the banks are closed so I tell her that I will bring more coins when I shop at the minimart again.

Some of the shops that line
the road outside the village.

I still need to buy fruits and vegetables, so I head for the access road outside the village, which I know is lined with small stalls and stores of those selling anything from rice, bread, dog food, fish, meat, fruit, vegetable, etc. I am not wrong. They are all open and there are cars and people. It is a comforting sight.

I am so happy at the return to normalcy, that I prolong the experience. I walk the entire length and turn around just before it intersects the service road, checking out what is open and available even though it is nearing noon and the sun is beating down on me. I get everything I need and enter the village gate where the streets are empty and everything is silent once more.

When I enter the house, my phone automatically connects to the Web via WiFi. I am pleased to see that I have been added to a Facebook group of food vendors based in or near the village who offer to deliver their goods. I check out what’s available and realize that this is probably how the higher-income class get their goods during this difficult time. The goods range from steak to lechon to prepared food, although there are also fruits and vegetables.

I thank my friend who thoughtfully added me to the group, but tell her I will treat this food resource as a last resort. I think the small vendors outside the gate are in greater need of every peso they can earn. It’s not a charity thing. My peso also goes a long way with them.