Social and good media

(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.)

My phone has been noisy all day with message alerts from the various social media groups that I have joined.

It’s not just the food groups. I am part of two community groups managed by residents within our subdivision as well as another created by our barangay officials. I also follow the official FB accounts of our parish, the City Government and a rather tech-savvy barangay councilor.

Because of these groups, I have learned that:

• The street outside our gate, where the wet market and food vendors are located, has been barricaded off to vehicles (which is why I now park near the gate and walk the rest of the way);
• Deliveries are limited to Gate 1, requiring residents to pick up the goods there;
• Gate 2 has been opened to decongest traffic at Gate 1, but only to accommodate exiting vehicles (which I have used because the area outside Gate 1 area has become parking space for those who did not know about the barricade and who found nowhere else to park their vehicles);
• At least six tricycles have been allowed by the association to operate within the subdivision to enable those without transportation to pick up the food deliveries at Gate 1;
• Residents have set up a tricycle drivers’ fund for the TODA (Tricycle Operators and Drivers' Association) that plies our streets, and has twice distributed food packs since the start of the enhanced community quarantine (which is the best thing I have learned about our community) 💗;
• The association has arranged for fruits, vegetable and seafood vendors to accommodate orders via phone or online, with the goods ready for pickup via “drive-through” near the church on Saturdays;
• Seniors and persons with disabilities can call the security office to have identified utility workers do the groceries for them at stores within the subdivision;
• There are stores within the subdivision that now accept orders via phone (which I have availed of, thank you);
• Residents in the next subdivision have received relief packs (which makes me a little green with envy, I must admit) 😁;
• The route of the Procession of the Holy Eucharist (on wheels) last Good Friday includes our street (which gave us time to set up a small altar outside the house) 🙏; and
• The nearby seminary livestreams masses (which we like since we attended Sunday mass there before the lockdown). 

From these groups, I also have access to news relevant to our community and/or barangay that have been culled from reputable news sources.

I have always maintained that there is nothing wrong with social media as a communications platform. It is only when it is abused that it casts a shadow on the good it can achieve.

It feels good to be right.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of April 15, 2020, the Philippines has reported 5,453 confirmed corona virus cases, including 353 recoveries and 349 deaths.