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.