BIRTHDAY

 

Much as I want to be happy because I was given by our dear God another year of life to be wiser and kinder, I cannot help but sometimes cry and be sad.
 
My cousin who is a doctor by profession and has been among our frontline workers in the medical field in District 5 of Manila and her husband who is an ER nurse at the Philippine General Hospital, were among our health care workers infected by COVID-19 disease. Daddy Jun was the first to contract the infection from the hospital followed by her two children, our uncle, and later on Ate. 

Gladly, my two other pamangkin were spared from the disease, Ashley who is now on her first year in the College of Nursing at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) and Adrian, ate's eldest son with special needs were immediately transferred from the vacant unit in the compound that Ate inherited from her late parents. It is also where Iram and I are also living. The unit was empty since late January this year after the previous tenant decided to transfer shortly after the new year.

It has been almost a week now when the result of Daddy Jun's swab test came out positive. While the rest of the family members came out on my birthday. 

It pains so much knowing a cousin who has always been there to take care of me since we were young and especially during my stroke, as well as the other people, is now in need of health attention, yet she remains to be a doctor that she has promised to be and to the rest of the family who are with her during this lockdown period.

Ate feared for this day. That even during the early onset of this health crisis her worry is for her children. And what she feared the most is now already inside her she peaceful home. Ate and her family are now battling this COVID disease.

But before ate and her family, it was my brother, Manuel who tested positive to COVID sometime last month. Sammy, as we usually call my brother, got the infection from his work in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. If it is any consolation, our much younger brother, Joseph is also working in another company in Riyadh, has been constantly checking on him, providing information that can help improve his condition. And thankfully, Manuel Jr. is now safe and COVID-19 negative.

Indeed, when we are helpless and uncertain, we can only hold on to Him and ask for miracles and prayers, And at this time that even Iram and I could get the infection, we can only surrender to God’s mercy and guidance. With the threat and chaos brought bt this global health crisis, it is our faith and relationship with God that can truly save us.

THE JOURNALESE

Mailayo lang sandali sa Coronavirus...

Dahil tanghali na ako nagising at habang nag-aalmusal, I received a private message from a journalist friend, Johnna, asking me if I am now with BM, an acronym for Business Mirror, so I replied, no.

She said, Martin (referring to Usec Martin Andanar, who was also a former colleague in media) read a question during a Media Briefing yesterday in Malacanang attributing to my name with BM as an agency.

Some years back, I did applied to Business Mirror before joining the DILG, but that time they preferred a business writer over a political reporter which is not my cup of tea.

Seated on my left is Johnna Villaviray then with the Manila Times and Mavic Angeles on the right, was then with dzEC Radio Agila. While I was then with Radio Veritas 846. The photo was taken at the Senate's PIMRO circa 2000

 

Puzzled? Yes. Admittedly, there are times that I am asking myself or sometimes wanting to be in the mainstream media. While my present work allows me to still do what I know and love, although on a different fence, but this is not the season for me to go back to my first job. Besides, I no longer have the adrenalin of a 25-years old who would love to chase the stories and the news sources regardless of the risk. I am now 45, still in the recovering phase following a mild stroke three years back.

 

In times when I feel like expressing myself, what I do is pen those thoughts and put it in my personal blog like this one.

AT LEAST FOR A MONTH

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.

 

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.