We can lockdown better

We can lockdown better

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DAUIN, NEGROS ORIENTAL — It has been two weeks since the Enhanced Community Quarantine started here, and we are all learning to adjust to this rapidly new world of personal restrictions and spatial distancing. So strange not to be able to hug and greet an old friend you haven’t seen in ages. So difficult to be cut-off from Dumaguete but for three days of the week. So sad to temporarily close Kawayan Collective operations but for three-days a week with our core crew.

But I have to admit as well that the extra time at home has also been calming. My closet has never been cleaner, I’m reading books again, and I’ve been playing so much more with the kids. My mantra has been to focus on what is within my realm of control — and in times like these that may only be my attitude.

So with that spirit in mind, I share with you some perspectives from a small business owner and resident of the municipality of Dauin on what I appreciate, and what could use improvement after two weeks of ECQ. I hope that everyone can find something on this list they identify with — either as something they can do themselves or thank someone for the next time they are feeling helpless and out-of-control.

What I like about ECQ

– The desire to help neighbors and friends. I love the neighborhood fundraisers and gifts of food and aid I’ve seen and received.

– The willingness to comply with the rules — wearing masks was cool in Dumaguete long before the US Centers for Disease-Control & Prevention recommended them, and community members are self-policing gathering spots, and reminding each other to stay home, stay away from crowds.

– More intentional connections online and via text (thank you, Globe for extending your payback period), including online learning. Thank you, Google Classroom.

– Payroll support from DOLE and DSWD for affected workers and rent forgiveness by landlords. Bill payment period extensions from NORECO and others providing necessary utilities.

– Creative solutions from local businesses like ready meals by Finbar, farm-to-table by Silver Reef, CoViD face shields by Subida Crafts, and surge capacity hospital beds by Kawayan Collective, to name just a few.

– Extension of access hours to Dumaguete and multiple checkpoints to help alleviate traffic and gathering in crowds, but still facilitate access to town for basic necessities, food and medicine.

What I wish

– That banks would see themselves as frontline workers in the economic response — and keep regular or even extended hours so that people can access cash. And for those unbanked people living outside Dumaguete, we need safe access to cash.

– That PhilPost and other shipping companies could still deliver to the house (thank you, LBC!). If we could order supplies online and guarantee delivery, we would not need to risk going to crowded stores.

– That checkpoints did not require people to line-up in crowded spaces but reorganized to safely facilitate pass and ID review so that drivers did not need to dismount from their vehicles and expose themselves to crowds.

What I wonder

– Just as doctors are doing, maybe banks can use the quarantine to improve phone service lines and online service,s and increase capability of ATMs to receive and disburse money (in small bills if needed) without requiring customers to come inside.

– Maybe more vendors can be ready to accept Mobile Money? Is this something LGUs might use to disburse stipends so that people do not need to risk crowding into government offices, but can receive their stipends safely on their phone?

Ultimately, what are all the ways we can minimize dependence on in-person transactions for essential services?

Knowing that it may still be a long while before CoViD-19 vaccinations are ready (experts say 18 months — and that does not include packaging and distribution throughout the world), we may well go in and out of various stages of lockdown over the next two years.

So we should all be making long-term decisions about how to “lockdown better” — what can each of us do within our realm of control to help ensure safe access to cash, jobs, food, and education in this new reality?

Amy Ellingson-Villanueva
Kawayan Collective
Dauin, Negros Oriental
[email protected]

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