MANILA---Roughly two weeks into the implementation
of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) the national government has
suspended majority of its operation except those in the frontline
services---hospitals, uniformed services such as the Philippine National
Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard, Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas, DOH, DILG, DND, DSWD, DOTr, MMDA, financial institutions,
local government units and Barangays among others are still
operational. While the schools on all levels, as well as the government
workforce are temporarily suspended although there are government offices that
are operating under the skeletal force and work from home schemes.
Also, the Luzon-wide lockdown that has been
implemented by the President on March 16, 2020 are being carried out by
provinces such as Davao City to possibly avert the spread of coronavirus. At
present, there are already two confirmed cases in Davao.
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| Photo credits to Philstar.com |
However, as a move to ensure that the economy will not further dip into
the plunge some entities are allowed to continue its operation among which
includes the Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs), banks, remittance centers,
financial institutions, grocery stores, water utilities, food business and
deliveries, drug stores, market vendors, grab deliveries, pharmaceutical firms
and media outfits are allowed to perform their functions.
While the names of international stars like Tom Hans and wife Rita came
out and announced that they have tested positive to coronavirus, also NBA
player Kevin Durant. Here in the Philippines incumbent Senator Juan Miguel
Zubiri was the first high-profile local personality that went out publicly and
admitted that he was positive with Coronavirus, followed by actor Christopher
De Leon. We have in fact lose many innocent people, medical frontliners who in
the performance of their sworn duty have risked their own safety and lives.
Meanwhile, as China slowly inching to managed COVID19 and has not so far
registered a new case, our local statistics however, continue to spike. As of
this writing, the country has listed 380 confirmed COVID19 cases, 25 deaths, 15
recovered cases and huge number of PUIs and PUMs.
At first I am just being cooperative to the government, and to my agency
as the DILG is member of the IATF for COVID-19, but after learning that a
friend suspected with coronavirus has died, I realized that we in the public
has to take this disease more seriously. Because containing COVID19 is not only
about ourselves but also about the welfare of our loves ones. How we, Filipinos
handles this tragedy lies the future of Philippine as a nation.
Hence, we may not know what is in store for all of us but perhaps we can
try at least for a month to really cooperate. Let us stay at home and refrain
from going out especially if you have the needed supply for your family's basic
needs. Because if you don't care enough for your house members, there are a lot
out there like me--hoping that this crisis will end soon for me to be able to
see my mother and brothers again.
But unless there are uncooperative people who continue loiter the
streets our chances of winning this crisis will remain dim.