Who receives?

(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.)

Today, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced it has stopped accepting applications for the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP).

They say that the CAMP budget of P1.6B “is very nearly depleted.” Later, they qualify that DOLE has stopped CAMP applications because the Department of Finance is rolling out its own program for the middle-class, particularly the wage subsidy program.

I think that after DOLE relaxed the documentary requirements and assured employer-applicants that all information provided will not come back to bite them EVER (think unregistered business, double ledger systems, etc.), the deluge was overwhelming.

This goes back again to the fact that there is an underground economy, that small businesses are able to operate despite the lack of permits, sanitary requirements, and non-compliance with labor rules, etc. 

Why the non-compliance? It is so hard to start and sustain a business in the Philippines because of the ONEROUS PROCESSES and RED TAPE that enterprising “fixers” and corrupt government employees are so quick to take advantage of. 

If your pockets aren't deep enough, you're already operating at a loss even before you can start your business. 

This also tells you why the Department of Trade and Industry does not have an accurate data base of businesses, just like the Department of Social Welfare and Development cannot really determine who are the poorest of the poor or the number of families that should be the beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

For National Government to adequately serve the Filipino citizenry, they have to go back to the SMALLEST local government unit, which is the barangay. If the barangay cannot even give the numbers, who can?

Barangay officials, however, are so far from the national coffers that they do what they can with what they have, which is not a lot. Some of the tanods are not even on the payroll; they make do with an allowance.

This crisis is teaching us that when government does not have the mechanism to accurately identify its target beneficiaries, aid to those affected will be a loooong time coming, if at all.

News reports carry a version of it every day: barangay so and so appealing for inclusion in the SAP; senior citizens complaining they have not received anything, etc. and etc.

I wish the government thinktank will FINALLY prioritize addressing this inefficiency because it looks like there will still be more interventions, which have to be adequate not only in terms of amount, but also in coverage.

If this does not happen, Government shall have failed miserably and no amount of threatening, ranting, and cursing by our president on late night TV will make up for it.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of April 16, 2020, the Philippines has reported 5,660 confirmed corona virus cases, including 435 recoveries and 362 deaths.

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.

Food talk

(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 a friend who is my go-to resource for stuff, particularly food.

You mention a restaurant, she will tell you their best dish. Mention a dish and she'll tell you where it is available or the outlet that prepares the most delicious version of it. Mention a locality, and she will tell you what pasalubong you should bring home and where to get it.

I swear by her. She does not disappoint, especially now that some food items are hard to come by because they are off the shelves under the lockdown. She got me into Facebook and Viber food groups that I never knew existed.

I tell you, it is pure temptation. Every time I receive a message alert, I steel myself to resist wants. I go through staples like rice, fish, eggs, fruits and vegetables carefully but am quick to swipe off the tempting sight of cakes, cookies, native delicacies, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, etc.

My friend prefers to have goods delivered because she is afraid of exposing herself to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).  I am not as open to delivery because they cost more, plus I like my fish fresh and not frozen. I also like being able to pick out fruits and vegetables in the quantities that we need.

I also think the food vendors that I frequent outside need my money more. I am nodding acquaintances with most of them and some, who I patronize, always give me a warm welcome… maybe even warmer now.

Then, there’s the chance to leave the house. With the road blocked off to vehicles, I leave the car near the gate and walk the rest of the way. I welcome the exercise. I go early when the sun is still friendly and the produce has just been laid out.

Of course, I am careful. With my quarantine pass on a string around my neck and my face mask on, I stop at stalls, careful to keep my distance from other buyers and close in only when there is space. I am careful not to touch the hand of the seller when I give money and receive change. It’s OK. I notice that they exercise the same care, too.

I do not touch my face, even when moisture starts to gather under the mask because of the humidity. I am not particularly mindful of how I look. I am in decent house clothes, just like everybody else. Besides, no one is looking. We are all just intent on buying what we need as fast as we can without getting too close to anyone.

When I have everything I need, I set the bags carefully on newspaper laid on the floor of the car. I get the alcohol and disinfect my hands before I touch the wheel. When I get home, I leave my slippers outside and get into another pair I left near the door. I then carry the bags to the kitchen where our help will clean them up as best as she can, including the surface where I laid them. She has plastic gloves on.

Meanwhile, I shower. I also disinfect my quarantine pass, the car keys, my phone and wash my face mask. I also set aside my soiled clothes and towel in a basin, to be washed separately.

I check that all food stuff has been sorted out in their shelves and containers. By this time, our help has also thrown out the newspaper on the car floor and wiped down the car door handles and steering wheel. She has also washed her hands.

The whole thing is tedious, even paranoid, I know, but necessary. Last Sunday, hubby left the house on a pretext to gas up a tank that was still almost full and came back with ice cream. He is incredulous when I make him walk into the house barefoot, get the bag from him and direct him to the shower.

Of course he resists and argues, then argues some more before he finally gives in. When he’s clean, he declares it’s the last time he leaves the house under the lockdown. Yeah, right.

Meanwhile, my phone goes off yet again and I laugh when I see that my friend has sent me a very appetizing and tempting photo of biko which she has just bought.

I tell her that if she keeps it up, I might give in. I will gain even more weight, while my wallet will get very lean.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of April 14, 2020, the Philippines has reported 5,223 confirmed corona virus cases, including 295 recoveries and 335 deaths.

A month

(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 can’t believe it. It’s been a month and I have managed to write every day.

I thought it would be difficult looking for topics, but there is actually stuff I am editing out.

Most of them have to do with negativity – in terms of what people post on social media, how they unnecessarily risk exposure to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the discrimination that frontliners are subjected to despite the herculean jobs they are doing, government efforts that go unnoticed, government inefficiencies that put people into predicaments - economic and healthwise… The list goes on and on.

I am aware that I have glossed over the impact of the lockdown on daily wage earners or the slow government aid that is coming their way. I haven't even gone into the bravery of individuals who actually give more than money.

I have not discussed government’s strategy in terms of flattening the curve, what we are doing better than our ASEAN neighbors if that can be said at all. Or what we are already doing so that we can slowly grow our economy. 

That part, I must admit, goes over my head. To go into that would stretch my brain power, at the end of which I still do not think I would make sense. Or know what I am talking about.

But I am an ordinary citizen, who is trying to keep this real while making life at home as bearable as I can so that we can keep safe, and not add to the statistics that already keep all those brave healthcare workers away from their families and homes.

We are being told that we are the first line of defense. When we keep leaving our homes and exposing ourselves to contact with probable carriers of the COVID-19, we breach that defense.

I should feel good. I should. But most of the time, I feel I am just hiding and waiting this out.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of April 13, 2020, the Philippines has reported 4,932 confirmed corona virus cases, including 242 recoveries and 315 deaths.

Happy Easter

(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 very basic food in the house. I realize that as soon as I start looking for something nice to prepare for Easter Sunday.

The Lord is risen. It’s a time for rejoicing. Easter Sunday is the most important holiday in the Christian calendar because Jesus’ resurrection is a fulfillment of God’s promises to mankind.

I do not even have dessert.

I look through my ref and decide that it’s still going to be a one-viand meal, like it’s been under the lockdown. I make bistek tagalog for lunch and that’s it, with rice. That’s more than a lot of people have under the lockdown, but I decide that we can do with a little more today.

I look through my online sources and decide we will have pizza as a mid-afternoon snack. Our favorite pizza place is closed so I try one that’s open, nearby and delivers.

It comes after more than an hour and I have to go out to the village gate to get it, as stipulated by the housing association as part of precautionary measures against COVID-19.

Of course, everyone is excited. NOW, it is Easter Sunday. Everyone is in a celebratory mood, which slowly subsides when we open the box. It IS pizza, but a gummy-looking one. Worse, it’s a gummy-tasting one. Our dog takes one sniff and ambles off. The pup, always an adventurous one, jumps up for a morsel and promptly spits it out.

We eat it, of course. No one wastes food at this time.  The amount we paid for that pizza was about the cost of a meal.

Credit: Vatican Media/CNA

We decide that the Easter Sunday celebration need not hinge on a meal, so we prepare to go online and “attend” Mass at the Manila Cathedral as previously planned. But at the last minute, hubby decides we are going to St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican and listen to the pope instead.

I have no quarrel with that. I just thought that a Mass in English or Filipino would be easier to follow, especially since we’d already attended a Sunday Mass online at St. Peter’s before this and found ourselves struggling with Latin.

Again, we rely on our familiarity with the Mass to participate and respond, although in English. We are grateful every time an English translation is provided. This way, we are able to fully understand the Pope's call for solidarity in the face of the “epochal challenge” posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

We stay on for his Urbi et Orbi message and hear him echo the hope in our hearts when he ends it with a prayer:

"May Christ, who has already defeated death and opened for us the way to eternal salvation, dispel the darkness of our suffering humanity and lead us into the light of his glorious day, a day that knows no end."

Happy Easter, everyone.

DoH update: As of 4 p.m. of April 12, 2020, the Philippines has reported 4,648 confirmed corona virus cases, including 197 recoveries and 297 deaths.