#still work but no masks and yet the Philippines was able to send them to China

[beameized]

Unpopular Opinion:

The automatic response of calling everyone who calls out China “racists” excuses the government of China’s incompetence, as well as its malicious actions in Asia. (Not pertaining to Covid-19 pandemic but China’s actions in general. The blatant debt traps, the 9 dash line that leads to attacks against other non-China boats who fish in areas that according to International law are rightful theirs, the control on certain areas by installing political parties that are loyal to China, the list could go on.)

So to say, before branding someone racist, context should be established because the use of the word “China” is quite ambiguous. If it were to mean “every single Chinese person ever” or “all of China’s citizens”, then it is indeed racist and/or xenophobic. If it were to mean China’s government and its supporters, then it may not be entirely unfounded.

When people say USA’s militant actions in the Middle East for the sake of controlling oil reserves has harmed many people and taken many lives, it does not mean all Americans are responsible for this. In this context, USA is meant to mean its government.

The same could be applied to China. China can be criticized without it being racist but context should first be established. Otherwise, if we just stop calling out China’s government for their bullshit, what will happen to those of us who suffer at this expense?

[divergent-mshs]

Perturbing the Comforted: On the Philippine Education System

Carrying the brandished hope of an unassailable force, the circle continues in its mindless cycle — traversing the same path, and leading to the same point from where it started: an imprisonment within the system that only seeks to continuously perpetuate itself rather than pave way for the birth of a new resolution. The chains that persist in their regressive purpose of molding dilemmas within the Philippine educational system converges in three grips — colonization, commercialization, and fascism.

Back when I was in primary school, I remember loving the color orange in a strange manner I could not comprehend. It would always be my go-to whenever we were made to pick our crayons to paint our coloring books with our desired touches. Even when the alphabet was first taught to us, the example used for words starting with letter “o” was the word orange. Growing up, the realization slowly starts to dawn on me: through the process of being socialized in my first years of education, there is always something foreign with how examples and lenses are taught to us. Something out of touch.

The enslavement of the Filipino people, ever since time immemorial, is reproduced in the way the culture they are a part of creates a machinery of impunity by molding itself to justify superficial ideals imposed by those who hold our economy, ensuring that it will be maintained through their ceaseless hold in our social conditions. As Renato Constantino put it, the most effective means of subjugating a people is to capture their minds.

After all, what better way is there to capture the people’s mind than controlling the very institution tasked with the responsibility of indoctrinating the people in the society they operate from, taking form in education?

The system of education that exists within the Philippines could not be analyzed without properly tracing its roots. Myopic analysis devoid of its own historical context is one of the major setbacks that hinder the progression of a refined discourse in this topic. It is only through dissecting the material conditions of the society will the understanding of the educational system’s orientation come in its true essence.

The domination of the English language as the medium of instruction, as well as the implementation of Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum 20 which eliminates Filipino at Panitikan as one of the core subjects in college, is one of the many proofs that the colonial orientation of education persists in its stronghold upon the system.

Philippine education was once shaped in the purpose of preserving American control. In order to attain this, it was of paramount importance that any separatist ideas are decimated. This goes hand-in-hand with the colonizers’ interest of maintaining their control on the nation’s mode of production. The ideological apparatus they have consolidated, taking root in education, ensures that they will mold generations of Filipinos who shall view themselves as obedient little colonials, free of any genuine nationalistic notions of liberating themselves, and putting American culture in superior heights in order to turn back on their identity.

According to Joseph Hayden in his study, it has been the English language and the very struggles necessary to acquire it that molded American culture to be instilled in the country, to which its usage brought the Filipinos to Americans and their culture. In 1925, the Monroe Survery Report criticized the system of education that the colonial administration imposed on their first decade of colonization. They said that the very curriculum instills American culture through organized and systemic means.

The English language as the medium of instruction is the strongest grip, in our time, of colonial chain in our educational system. The machinery of power in this society is held by the people who believe that it is only through English shall the Filipinos acquire real education.

Alienation presents yet another peril brought by the colonization of education. It ensures that bourgeois-liberal tendencies will be championed to nurture individualism within the students, separating them from the society they are a part of. It glorifies suffering and masks them as necessary pain from where their consciousness must be submerged in instead of troubles that require transformation — it encourages the submission to the status quo, a defeatist approach, in order to quell any attempt of transforming it which is against the interest of those whose power lie on the succession of the inequality within the system.

It glamorizes the Philippines as an agricultural country, but it pries away from awakening the students from the fact that the backbones of the sector that makes this country agricultural are suffering and are subjected to inhumane societal conditions. It vilifies any hope for national industrialization, ensuring that our economy will remain dependent on foreign hold. The preservation of backward culture is systematic, creating ideological conditions that promotes colonial assimilation.

The struggle of the Filipino people, however, does not stop there — the chains only continue to expand, clawing even deeper upon their already decaying flesh.

The K-12 program has embarked as yet another weapon of colonial spite. The issue here isn’t as simplistic as whether the Philippines is ready for this change, but its core orientation that urged its implementation. Its design conformed to the Bologna Accords of European Union and Washington Accord of USA. It mentioned how those who shall work in other countries must finish 12 years in accordance to the needs of foreign multinational companies.

In short, it is another path for foreign interests to use our education as breeding grounds for a bulk of cheap laborers. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worked abroad at any time during the period April to September 2018 was estimated at 2.3 million. This accounts to more than 6,000 Filipinos migrating every day to work outside the country. The objective of the K-12 centering on readying its completers for jobs entails the underlying consequence of further satisfying foreign avarice at the expense of the Filipinos.

The dilemma of colonization in education brings forth the second ordeal — commercialization. It lies on the principle of marketization that the capitalist foreign forces have shaped in the educational system. A principle that equips the students to be coerced in submerging themselves within market demands, rather than studying as means of changing the social conditions that make it unbearable to begin with.

According to a Department of Education report back in 2012, in every 100 students that enroll in elementary, only less than 14 of those are able to finish college. The significant amount of the youth who have been incapable of finishing their education can’t be isolated cases — they are manifestations of the ills within the system.

Once brought upon the slums, would one really still have the opportunity to persist in their studies when their churning stomachs are already driving them on the edge?

It is, yet again, social conditions that hinder the progression of the majority of those driven out of their schools to settle in clamoring for jobs. This is strengthened with commercializing education, treating it as means of gaining profit rather than a right for the people.

In present times, public institutions are seen as inferior compared to their private counterparts. Only those who can’t afford private schools send their children to public schools. Those who can afford it, however, send their children to private institutions. Its outcome led to over-glorification of private education which has unfortunately resulted to the proliferation of diploma mills.

This dilemma is further exacerbated with the education’s deregulation. This is when the government frees themselves from tenets of their responsibility to ensure free education for all, and allow power for private sectors to enter the educational realms. The MTHEDIP mentioned a case study that illustrates the collaboration of transnational corporations like IBM with the Far Eastern University (FEU) in setting up the East-Asia College.

The government argues that the educational system ought to be internationalized in the case of our curriculum in order to attract as many foreign enrollees as possible as in the case of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). In order to further justify decreased budgetary allocation for education, the MTHEDIP makes no pretense at advocating the commercialization and corporatization of the tertiary public school system.

Finally, it comes at a full circle — the form of fascism is instilled within the educational system, functioning in their earnest objective of preserving the structures mentioned earlier.

Constantino described how nationalism is taught at schools in a very narrow-sighted way. It merely raises patriotism in the sense that it could be fully achieved through its symbolic means of respect in the flag, appreciation for our national symbols, and obeying to authorities without question. It creates a culture of compulsory subservience — one that is needed in maintaining power structures.

True nationalism, however, lies on the desire to cultivate national survival, which is what education should be made for in the first place. Fascism derails this — it simply generates a nonscientific culture of imposing ‘discipline’ by having powers remaining unquestioned, shunning criticality, and alienating the students from the broad masses where they can channel their true nationalism to. After all, it is the people who make up the nation.

It is only warranted that these three rots be vanquished, for as history itself has shown, nothing is subject for permanence. The call for a genuine nationalistic, scientific, and mass-oriented education waits to be heeded. It is only through that should education finally come in its full terms of providing an avenue for the people to mold a society that leans on itself, liberated from ideas that only oppress the people, and addresses the struggles that have long been untapped in the community.

Given these, what’s left for the Filipino youth is their collective will to stand for their democratic rights. History already proved how their united action could bring upon societal change. The youth of tomorrow leave their hope on the youth of today to topple regressive forms and destroy whatever illusion the people still cling into as means of justifying the exploitation of the Filipinos — the path to liberation is never comforting, for the comforted ought to be disturbed, and from there on, the disturbed will rise to spring comfort upon everyone.

[wanderbitesbybobbie]

REAL TALK: Inside a Bipolar Mind Amidst a Pandemic

Three nights ago, I sent an e-mail to my psychiatrist. The e-mail went this way…

Hi, Dra. Belle. How are you? I hope you’re doing well and good and most of all healthy. I’m doing OK, with all the Covid 19 things happening. I just had 1 breakdown so far which I would really like to discuss with you on our next consult if there’s any slot available. I was scheduled for April 6 appointment, but if there’s any slot left for May, I would gladly take it. I’m not that anxious at the moment as I’ve been trying to avoid stressful news. Over all, I’m OK, except that I find it really hard to sleep again. Probably because I’m just at home, and I don’t have that much activities compared to my usual routine. I do cardio exercises, I write a lot for my blog, but because there’s longer time to rest, I really find it hard to sleep at night. I keep waking up with the body twitches again, and because of lack of sleep I’m usually irritable. I badly need to take Clonotril again. However, I can’t seem to find your latest prescription of Clonazepam (Clonotril), I’m not sure if there was one issued last March. I tried to show Mercury Drug the Feb 3 prescription which has been unused, but they said it’s already expired. They said, they will accept E-Prescription, so I have to ask my doctor for it. May I please request another copy of the prescription for Clonazepam? I still have my Quetiapine prescription and I was able to use it, I just dunno where I placed the Clonazepam. I know you always hand me 2 prescriptions every time. 1 for Quetiapine and 1 for Clonazepam. I’m just not sure if I misplaced the other one, or if I forgot to get a prescription for it last time. If it’s possible, please send it here on my e-mail. I only have 1 left in my stash and I’m a bit panicking because I can’t find the latest prescription. I attached here the photo of the February prescription. Thank you so much. Hope to hear from you soonest. Keep safe and God Bless.

I stood in front of the counter at my local pharmacy. It took them around half an hour before they were able to dispense my medication. Though my psychiatrist have issued the latest prescription, the pharmacist had to call the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to verify how legit my papers were. Yes, it’s a usual practice. One of my medications is a controlled drug, and it is heavily regulated by PDEA. So I waited for the pharmacist until someone from PDEA answered their call. I kept calm. There was nothing I could do anyway.

SURVIVING THE QUARANTINE

It has been a month since the government decided to put the entire Luzon (northern part of the Philippines which includes Manila) on a community quarantine. All movements are limited. Mass transportation has been stopped. There are checkpoints everywhere. People from the private sector were asked to work from home. The government is badly trying to flatten the curve. Covid-19 has been winning for the last months. It has taken over the major economic centers of the world, USA, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, China, Japan, it did not spare anyone. It took the rich and the poor, the old and the young. As of this writing, there are 2,215,167 Cases in the world, 149,676 Deaths, and about 560,672 has recovered according to Worldometers Info. It does not look good, wherever angle you would look at it.

I honestly don’t know where I stand, but I have a lot of things in mind. It’s 2:15 AM. If you would notice, most of my articles are posted at wee hours like this. Why? BECAUSE I HATE SLEEPING. I have recently discovered this during the time of this pandemic. I hate it when the clock strikes at around 12 midnight, that means I have to put myself to sleep again. Sleep is essential I know, but for someone like me who has a massive trouble sleeping, it’s not a pleasurable process. It comes with my disorder. My brain is hyperactive (manic) at this time. I am not like a normal person, who simply lies down in bed, tuck themselves comfortably in, and instantly falls asleep. I have to take heavy medications to put my relentless active brain cells to shut down. I have to wait for hours until they take effect. If sleeping is a dilemma for me, the same goes with waking up. It takes the same amount of effort to put me to sleep to be able to get me up to function.

But conversely, I am somehow liking the quarantine. It gives me so much time to be away from my tiresome daily hustle. I don’t have to go out everyday for work. I don’t have to wake up early to get multiple things done in a day. I don’t have to force myself to deal with people. I wake up, prepare breakfast, watch Netflix, prepare food for lunch and dinner, take photos of the food I make, maybe write for my blog, watch more movies, send some replies to client inquiries, and then prepare to sleep again. It has been my routine. Sometimes, I do the laundry, clean the house parts by parts, insert some cardio exercises every other day, give my dog a bath, run through our supplies and make a list of what needs to be restocked. It’s on repeat, sometimes I even lose track of what day it is. Some days I go on a grocery run to buy stocks for 2 weeks. The long queues had never been my problem as I have a disability ID allowing me to go on the priority lane. Then again, I have always thought about the people around me. Some, computing their budgets while they read-through their grocery lists. Some, fidgeting on their phones, maybe posting rants about the unbelievable lines they had to go through just to get inside the supermarket. I never experienced any of it, and for the first time, I say thanks to my disability. My PWD ID itself is a powerful immunity. I am thankful that I wouldn’t have to wait in line, as it would definitely increase my exposure to the virus. I am at high-risk, I am asthmatic, with so many deficiencies (according to my last lab results) and I’m taking medications for my brain. There is little chance for me to survive it, so I am taking extra precautions. But because of Covid, I became thankful for a lot of things. Things that never mattered before the pandemic. I am thankful that supermarkets are always restocked with supplies. People wouldn’t have to worry about scarcity. After all, that’s what the President promised. “We have enough food and supplies.” I am thankful I could drive my car. I wouldn’t have to carry heavy supplies from Point A to Point B with the absence of public transport. I am thankful for God’s grace and that we have enough. I am thankful that I can share and I wouldn’t have to cry for help and rely on the government. This pandemic has made me grateful for so many things more than ever.

Somehow, I am surviving the quarantine. I managed to endure with only 1 anxiety breakdown. I cried my constant worries away all my what-ifs. I was angry, I was worried, I was stressed. But at that time, my anxiety was less of a concern. There was a bigger predicament lingering throughout the globe and that was to stay at home to avoid the virus. I know I have to cope by myself, mainly because a trip to my psychiatrist would potentially expose me to the virus. My medications kept me stable and I am functioning well (so far, so good). When boredom strikes, I turn to writing and cooking. I have known my disorder for more than a year now, and it is clearly triggered by stress. A pandemic like this is an obvious trigger. I know I have to carefully eliminate things that would cause me to react.

REACTING TO SOCIAL DISTANCING AND ISOLATION

But there’s always a downside to every situation like this. As I walk inside the supermarket, I watched how people behaved like dormant zombies slowly pushing their carts. Except, they don’t have any human triggers that would make them agitated. With the quarantine going on, only one person per household is allowed to go out. They become the “tributes” as they brave the great outdoors to restock their supplies. Social distancing has been implemented. No one is talking to each other as they keep a safe distance from one another. Everyone wore their “gears” of protection. Wearing a face mask is the new norm.

10 minutes of this for someone with a major anxiety disorder can easily trigger a meltdown. Isolation stimulates sadness and depression and reduces the feeling of optimism. That is a fact. How do I know? Because I have experienced this first-hand. I always thank the people who take their time to read what’s on my Disability ID. “Mental and Psycho-social”, meaning I can go from zero to maximum breakdown at any given time. Bipolar Disorder (depressed or manic) can sometimes be activated without any clear external factors. Therefore, I cannot be left alone for a long time.

GREATER DANGERS ASIDE FROM THE VIRUS

I am lucky because somehow, I can still control my thoughts and my moods. Fortunately, I have not gone hysterical in public (yet and I hope not). My history of breakdowns have been in the corners of my house or within the walls of my room. Crying on the train or in the bus in Sydney does not count. I wasn’t hysterical. I have been applying everything from my therapies, from breathing exercises on how to calm down and talking to the people around me. I air out every feeling and emotion whether it’s happiness, sadness, excitement, fear, or whatever that comes in between. I still have a full-stock of my medications. Also, reading and writing has been my outlet. My extremely active mind has been converting somewhat manic thoughts to productivity, hence my multiple blog entries. I have a lot of things to say, so much in my mind, but I was taught in therapy that not everything needs a reaction.

Having a look around, there is no lucid conclusion with what lies ahead. Everything is not as stable as it seemed to be. No one was prepared. Everybody, including the most powerful are being challenged. It has become inevitable. But you know what greatly affects the world that seems to be unforeseen? People like me, diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, are facing additional challenges. According to Psychology Today, only 2.5 % of the population share these challenges: MOOD ELEVATION AND FULL BLOWN MENTAL BREAKDOWNS. 2.5 % of the world is Bipolar, and God knows what kind of cognitive and behavioral efforts for stress management we undertake amidst a crisis like this. Let’s take everything into consideration, not only Bipolar Disorder, but the list of other Mental Disorders can go on and on.

What is equally concerning is the amount of people suffering from anxiety even without having a proper diagnosis. The pandemic has brought this upon us. More people have become anxious. For some reason, I find myself very lucky. I was already geared with coping mechanisms before this happened. What happens to those who cannot manage?

Looking into the vast expanse of uncertainty and seclusion leaves people to mull over things that could possibly transpire in the future, at the mercy of their confused train of thoughts. The world feels further away, with everyone having their own sets of worries. Fears become louder. It has become a very unhealthy environment.

General access to uninterrupted screen time increases the pressure on the mental health even more. Social media, the news, anything that frequently suggest or conveys to your conscious or unconscious mind that you might be in danger are considered “threats” to your sanity and causes more fear. Leaving our vulnerable minds bare to a steady stream of these keep us all in an anxious mode. The accumulation of stress-triggers to our brain can develop more pessimistic thought patterns, and unnecessary emotions towards our current circumstances.

I am reaching out to all my fellow Mental Health Advocates, and to everyone who can possibly read this post. These are indeed out of the ordinary times for us. As we come to the point that we impose measures to protect our physical health, how about we do the same for our mental health? Try to listen to ourselves in a deeper context. Remember, we don’t have to go through this alone. Seek help if you must. You might be required to keep a safe distance from people, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to disconnect.

KEEP CALM, KEEP SAFE AND MOST OF ALL HEALTHY, NOT JUST PHYSICAL, BUT MENTAL TOO. YOU ARE ALL IN MY MIND AND PRAYERS.

With Love From Quarantine,

    REAL TALK: Inside a Bipolar Mind Amidst a Pandemic was originally published on WanderBitesByBobbie

[juaaanderland-blog]

BARYA: Child Labor in Manila

It was just an ordinary day for us and heavy traffic, which seems to have been a daily routine, lies along Avenida Highway in Manila. Public vehicles with the unbeatable equatorial heat filled this agora. Outside the jeepney window, you’ll notice the worst crisis our country has been facing. Poverty.

Homeless families and street children demonstrate how our country fights poverty. Dressed in torn and dirty loose shirts, they eagerly cross the highway every day without considering their safety just to survive from starving.

While the City of Manila is the capital of the Philippines, this place, unfortunately, is still considered to be the city with the largest number of street children and workers. Hurtful as it may seem, but they just represent the lack of our country to cease poverty.

Sometimes, children think life outside their home is better and much joyful. But for Bryan, a 10-year-old street worker who forced to risk his life in his hazardous job, staying on the street is definitely a difficult challenge for him. He has no choice but to risk his life on the street.

Chasing the jeepneys passing by along the highway, he doesn’t care if people mock and feel disgusted with him. He wipes the shoes of passengers and asks for some money.  It would be a great blessing if he could collect at least some ‘barya’ or coins from them. But where does the collected small amount of money go? Just like what typical street children do, he was forced to do this to support his financial needs in school.

Following our conversation, we had the chance to ask him what does he want to do in the future. He, then, answered he wants to arrest criminals and street children like him who do such illegal things. By the look of things, he is likewise determined to earn money and continue his study.

Meanwhile, a cute little guy with chinky eyes captured our way in Divisoria. “A-che (Ate), bili po kayo,” he joyfully uttered. We literally stopped and variegated face mask welcomed us. Since the area itself is polluted, we were left off-guard. We were in the middle of peeking his merchandise when a man, around his early thirties, came by.

Out of curiosity, we felt the urge to ask the man next to him and found out that this little child, named Oman, is his nephew. At the very young age, he grew up helping his family and spending his daytime in this polluted area. Currently, he is a six year- old kid planning to enter his first grade.

In the Philippines, a lot of kids are already working part time to earn some penny. Oman is just one of them, which is indeed alarming considering the fact that children in his age should spend their time in school. According to the Child Labor Act of 1992, working before the permissible age is illegal.  Yet we can’t deny this hiatus is unbreakable.

While innocently hugging his filthy feather duster, we playfully asked him to choose between a cheetah and a plainly designed mask. He slightly bit his lips then pointed the first one. We paid the mask to him and sent us a kiddie smile.

Along the street of Quiapo, Manila, we spent many hours to find out what real hard work is. We noticed a mirthful girl wandering around with a bunch of plastic bag hanging on her skinny arm. Her face portrays a look of a decent yet unhealthy child. The girl that caught our mournful eyes is Manilyn. She is an eight-year-old girl who started to earn a living at the very young age by selling plastic bags shamelessly.

She’s just one of the unfortunate street children who have already been working on the street. She sells plastic bags to help her mother who has tuberculosis and earn for her school allowance as well. Nevertheless, it has never been an inconvenience to her since she is already used to it.

When asked about her single wish, she mentioned that she wants to be a teacher someday. She added that she wants to teach for free so that no more children like her will force to stop going to school due to poverty. At this point, we suddenly remembered the famous saying of a poor farmer who wants to send his child to school, “Hindi ko hahayaang danasin mo ang mga dinanas ko noon.” Despite her innocent and jolly image, she seems to be quite aware of what poverty means.

Amidst the sudden drop of light rain, a barefooted boy who was begging for money caught our eyes in Sta. Mesa. He was knocking the windows of few cars passing by the highway of Mandaluyong to Quezon Avenue whenever it all slow down for a red light. He would ask money to the drivers with his red paper cup.

Unlike the street children we just encountered, he couldn’t walk properly. He’s physically disabled making his situation a bit complicated. He was all dirty and pitiful roaming the highway with his longing to earn a small amount of money.

When traffic lights turned to green, he finally had time to take a rest for a while in the gutter. A guy, who seems to be his friend, approached him and they started to count the money or coins they have solicited. This kind of work is obviously illegal yet we can’t help but think positively that they are just doing this on purpose.

Seeing street children roaming around like this is indeed disheartening. But who is to blame? Although pointing finger without justifiable reason is a bad habit, it is still inevitable to blame the negligence of their parents. We’ve come to the point if somebody becomes the child in the picture, will he or she be able to survive and sacrifice his safety on the street just to earn a penny? They may not be as lucky as some people, but they are somehow blessed with bravery and courage in life. 

[phgq]

Quirino guv offers province's farm produce to direct buyers

#PHnews: Quirino guv offers province's farm produce to direct buyers

MANILA – Quirino Governor Dakila Cua is offering the province's farm produce to direct buyers to help link farmers to the market and sell their products.

During a Laging Handa briefing on Monday aired over state-run PTV4, Cua said due to the coronavirus outbreak, sales of farmers from Quirino province were affected because buyers may have canceled or reduced the volume of their orders.

This led to oversupply, specifically of tomatoes, which ended up being discarded, Cua said.

“It is really an emotional sight to see all those tomatoes, yung mga kamatis nila, sayang. Ito ang pang-tuition ng mga anak nila, ito ang kabuhayan na alam ng ating mga kapatid dito sa kabundukan ng (The tomatoes were wasted. This is where the tuition fees of their children come from and this is the livelihood of our people here in) Sierra Madre and they’re toiling at their best to earn a livelihood," he said.

Cua said the price of tomatoes in Quirino dropped.

He said he immediately sent out teams to talk to the communities and talk to farmers to hear them.

“Bumili ako, dating bentahan po nito ay nasa PHP15, bumaba siya up to 4 pesos, pero now na natulungan natin umaangat na siya ulit (I bought tomatoes, before these are being sold at PHP15. The price dropped to PHP4, but now it is slowly recovering) to around PHP12 and we predict soon enough it will be around 20,” Cua said.

He said the provincial government helped link them to direct buyers and at the same time shorten the process and eliminate middlemen for buyers to have an open line to the farmers.

After solving the problems with tomatoes, Cua said right now, they are having the same problem with Baguio beans.

He called on all the local governments in Metro Manila and other provinces who may be interested to buy directly from their farmers.

“Meron pa kaming ibang problema bukod dun sa mga kamatis na na-solve na namin, ngayon naman yung mga baguio beans na hindi galing Baguio, galing pong Quirino (We still have other problem aside from the tomatoes. Now it’s the Baguio beans which are not from Baguio but Quirino) but they’re as fresh and as juicy as the ones in Baguio. Ito naman ang hinahanapan naming ng market linkage sa ngayon (We are now looking for a market linkage for them),” he said.

“Kung may nakikinig po dyan at gusto bumili ng maganda at (For those listening who want to buy and have a) reliable supply ng Baguio beans, meron po dito sa aming lalawigan (we have it here in our province),” Cua said.

'Hatid tulong'

Meanwhile, Cua assured locally stranded individuals (LSIs) from Quirino of assistance from the provincial government.

Cua said the province is offering two options for their LSIs.

For Quirinians who are stranded in the metro but cannot go back since school will soon resume, those have work in other parts of the country or are afraid to go back and possibly be a carrier of the virus, Cua said they are offering them financial assistance.

He said those who are interested in availing of this aid may get in touch with the Quirino Covid action center and give their details to be able to send assistance financially.

“Pangalawa, yung mga talagang nawalan ng trabaho at gusto nang umuwi dito at makasama ang kanilang pamilya, sundin lamang ang mga dokumento at proseso na nire-require ng ating (Secondly, those who lost their jobs and want to go back and be with their families, just follow the documentation and the process being required by our) provincial and municipal DRRMO offices, sila po ang mag fa-facilitate (they will be the ones who will facilitate),” Cua said.

For those who have their own modes of transportation, Cua said they will facilitate the issuance of travel passes so they can successfully travel to Quirino.

“Kung wala naman kayong sasakyan (If you do not have a car), we have regular assistance na nagcha-charter tayo ng mga (we charter) van o mini buses na nagsusundo ng mga tao (who fetch people) from different parts of the country – from Manila, from Cavite, Pampanga even from Pangasinan. Marami na tayong nasundo, mahigit isang libo na ang napauwi natin (We have assisted more than a thousand) since the start of the lockdown. As long as we have kababayans who need to travel back to Quirino, we’ll find a way to coordinate and collaborate. Kumpletuhin lang natin mga dokumento para hindi tayo ma hassle (just complete your documents to be hassle-free)," he said.

Covid-free

Cua said due to the "concerted effort" of Quirinians, the province remains as one of the areas in Luzon which free from Covid-19.

The province is now under a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) and Cua said they have resumed 90 to 95 percent of their economic activities.

He said about 90 percent of their residents follow the safety protocols like wearing masks, safe physical distancing, proper observance of the curfew hours, and the liquor ban.

The only sector hardest-hit by the restrictions, Cua said, is tourism.

“Isa yong pillar ng ating development dito sa Quirino, ngunit (it is one of our pillars here in Quirino but) we will rather be safe and we ensure the safety of our people than open our tourism. So ang restrictions naming ay same pa rin (our restrictions remains the same), we encourage everybody to stay at home," he said.

Border control, he said, is still in effect in the province, and those who wish to enter are required to fill out a health declaration and a contact information form.

Cua said since they have not conducted any mass testing yet unlike other LGUs, he reminded everyone to take extra precautions.

"Threat might be coming from outside the province, therefore let’s manage the entry and exit of people as much as effectively as possible dahil nandiyan ang nakikita nating (it is where) potential threat na ma-infect ang ating community dito sa Quirino province," he said. (PNA)

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References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Quirino guv offers province's farm produce to direct buyers." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1108831 (accessed July 14, 2020 at 02:57AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Quirino guv offers province's farm produce to direct buyers." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1108831 (archived).