It was been almost two months since our province was ordered to be in Enhanced Community Quarantine, lots of things had happened. The ECQ was extended for a month after 15 days of being under it, then General Community Quarantine came over for 15 days and on the 16th of May the GCQ will be modified.

On the first week of the Enhanced Community Quarantine everyone was still adjusting, no public transports, some restaurants, offices and other establishments were closed. After a week of ECQ all job orders in our office were asked to report to help in repacking of goods, but unfortunately I didn’t comply because it wasn’t that easy as 123, I have no quarantine pass and either my father because one member in a family is only allowed to go outside to buy food and medicines, my sister has the pass so she can easily buy milk and diapers for my niece as well as other necessities at home, I don’t know how to drive which means I have to walk 9 to 10 kilometres every day (back and forth), and I have a vulnerable mother and a baby niece in our home. There were a lot of PUM’s (Person under Monitoring) and PUI’s (Person under Investigation) at that time so their safety is my number one priority, as we cannot afford to get sick.

A week of ECQ (21th of April) helped came over from the barangay for the affected workers of the pandemic, my carpenter father received a bag of relief goods composed of 2.4 kilos of rice, 2 cans of sardines, 2 packed of instant noodles, 1 small can of corned beef, a packed of coffee, one sachet of bath soap and a laundry soap, within a family of five with four adult, the rice will be good for three meals or one day only, small help but it is better than nothing, and still a blessing to be thankful for.

A week after, my father received a relief good from the local government or from our municipality, inside the bag is about 7.2 kilos of rice, 4 cans of sardines, 2 cans of hot and spicy tuna, one kilo of dried fish with tomatoes.

The next day, my sister was also given a relief good, wait rephrase she went to the temporary barangay hall to collect a relief good, as the barangay is giving relief goods to every family or workers with family that wasn’t able to received yet. The bag has 5 cans of spicy sardines, 3 sachet of brown coffee and about 4.8 kilos of rice.

Then after two weeks, my sister had also her share of relief good from the municipal government which is composed of 7.2 kilos of rice, 4 cans of sardines, 1 can of corned beef and a can of spicy tuna, but hey that’s not all, there was also a kilo of dried fish, tomatoes and one piece of cucumber in a separate bag.

Don’t ask about me, I am not qualified to receive help because I don’t have my own family neither a husband (so mean), I wish they realized I am also human being capable of eating (joke).

Then nothing more, I mean no more relief goods from the local government, but my sister received groceries from their cooperative which I am not able to take pictures, as some of them were already eaten/ cooked before I know it.

When the pandemic and ECQ started, three of us stopped working, luckily we had a continued wages with the order of the national government, my monthly wages cannot raise a family and spending on a baby’s milk and diapers, our budget wasn’t enough, but a little something is better than nothing at all.

We are in provincial rate, but the prices of commodities in our province are much more expensive than the commodities you can buy in Manila.

Anyway would like to say, thank you to our Mayor and to other local officials for the help (relief goods) during the ECQ.