‘Hopefully, Facebook acts, and acts fast. This is the kind of behavior that lends to the widely held perception that it is reluctant to uphold the privacy of its users, and is helpless against bad actors who game their platform.’

UNFORTUNATELY, it wasn’t a screening of the Star Wars movie of the same title. Rather, it was a less entertaining event: Facebook users woke up over the weekend to see their feeds bombarded with posts from their friends and family members, all warning of the same thing. Clone accounts sprouted like poisonous mushrooms, carrying no photos, no friends, no posts — all created, it seems, very recently. Some mirrored the account names of real people to the letter; some had slightly misspelled entries, some had accounts created in their nicknames, or saw accounts that had put their surname as their first, and vice-versa.

Early indications from enterprising online sleuths are in: it seems that the first wave of clone started duplicating the Facebook profiles of students and faculty of the University of the Philippines Cebu, after a peaceful protest against the passage of the Anti-Terror Bill was broken up by police, who arrested several protesters. The arrests were swiftly denounced by the administration of UP Cebu. On Sunday, the UP administration urged members of the UP community to check Facebook if any duplicate accounts had been made in their name.

Word didn’t stay within the UP community, and spread like wildfire in the online space.

It doesn’t take much to understand the alarm that the attack of the clones caused to ordinary folks on Facebook. To some extent, celebrities and public figures are no stranger to this sort of modus, some cooked up with nefarious purposes in mind. Identity theft is a serious matter (apart from being an actual criminal offense), and can cause serious damage to the victim.

The question is: what is the purpose of these clones? Anyone who has a social media account will be familiar with trolls, or accounts created to sway the opinion of other users, or to bully real users who may have an opposing opinion on a particular issue into silence. I don’t have a definite answer, but I do have a list of questions we should all be asking in connection with these clones.

Most obvious is, who is behind this? Anyone who wants to open a Facebook account is asked to provide a mobile number, so it is safe to say that the creators of these clone accounts used different mobile numbers to make these accounts. I am curious whether the telcos have seen a surge of new mobile number activations more than usual. This is clearly not the work of one or two people, but required resources and manpower. Who is callous enough to launch an attack on unsuspecting users at a time when everyone is still living under threat of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Sadly, like many other things, we may never know. Unless Facebook makes public the results of its investigation on this matter. Last I heard, the social media giant is already investigating the incident, following numerous reports from its own users about the existence of the clones. Hopefully, Facebook acts, and acts fast. This is the kind of behavior that lends to the widely held perception that it is reluctant to uphold the privacy of its users, and is helpless against bad actors who game their platform.

Until then, keep yourselves safe, dear millennials and fillennials. Online, and offline.

‘And so it goes–we will be left to care for ourselves until such time that a safe vaccine is developed to kill COVID-19. Until then, we will all be contestants on Survivor Pilipinas, with only our wits and own devices at our disposal in order to stay safe in these times.’

WELCOME to Survivor Pilipinas, COVID-19 edition. 

If you’ve had occasion to browse through any social media platform this past week, chances are you’ve seen a meme that simply says “Survivor Pilipinas” in reference to the recently implemented general community quarantine in Metro Manila and other regions around the country. 

“Survivor Pilipinas” is a play on the reality TV series called Survivor, where contestants are left to their own devices in different remote locations around the world. It became wildly popular in 2000, when its maiden series kicked off in Pulau Tiga, Malaysia. The idea is that contestants must outwit, outplay, and outlast each other in order to become the sole survivor, and therefore the winner of the series. Each week, contestants battle it out in challenges against the other tribe, with the losing group going to the Tribal Council where they would vote out one of their own off the island. 

And so it will go, week after week, until there is only the sole survivor left. 

Sound familiar? 

Seeing, listening, and watching government in these past weeks feels more and more like folks have been left on their own, with little to no help from government. The Social Amelioration Program, meant to provide relief to families who could not earn a livelihood during lockdown, was wracked with many problems, from the confusing lists of beneficiaries, slow distribution, reports of kickbacks by local officials. The DOLE’s relief program for employees was also short-lived due to lack of budget, and loan programs from SSS and other similar agencies, hard to access. 

And now, judging by the first day of the general community quarantine, people who had to go back to work were largely left to fend for themselves in terms of public transportation, as buses and jeeps are still not allowed to operate. It was disheartening to see scores of people waiting by the roadside, hoping to catch a ride to work. Some took matters into their own hands, and tried to bike to work, without the previously promised bike lane along EDSA. For many, walking was the only option–and it makes me angry to hear that some essential workers have to walk from Makati to Parañaque (and back) every day just to get to work. 

These are the same people that government was singing praises about a month ago–how important they are, how they are modern-day heroes in light of the pandemic. But that’s it. Just words. The simplest kind of assistance that government can provide–reliable public transportation–is denied to our essential workers because they are apparently still figuring things out. What were they doing these last two-and-a-half months? Zoom e-numan? Making Dalgona coffee? Baking ube cheese pandesal? Whatever it was, it’s apparent that a thorough plan of what reopening the cities would require wasn’t part of the agenda. As CNN anchor Chris Cuomo said: “We elect people to lead. To do the job for you.” 

Snark aside, more disturbing is the attempt to gaslight the populace when it comes to the data about how many COVID-19 cases and deaths we really have. Three days leading up to the implementation of the GCQ, cases were still going up. And what were we told? “Oh, those are old cases. Fresh cases are down.” What? Are we talking about vegetables here? Meat? Until now, we are still quibbling about mass testing. It’s not necessary, they say. We can’t do it, one admitted. “Oh we are doing targeted testing!” one boasted. Yeah, right. Tell that to the OFWs who have been stuck in quarantine facilities for over a month, waiting for a paper certification, until media shone a light on their situation. 

And so it goes–we will be left to care for ourselves until such time that a safe vaccine is developed to kill COVID-19. Until then, we will all be contestants on Survivor Pilipinas, with only our wits and own devices at our disposal in order to stay safe in these times. May we all remain safe and healthy even as we plunge headlong into the danger posed by COVID-19.

Remember: Outwit. Outplay. Outlast. We all need to survive so we can vote in 2022. 

‘Defying social distancing measures, the people of Hong Kong are now back on the streets, railing against Beijing’s underhanded tactics.’

IT came, as they say, like a thief in the night.

In the midst of the global pandemic, Beijing announced its intention to bypass Hong Kong’s legislature in order to enact what is branded as a national security legislation–a law that will cover the crimes of secession, sedition, terrorism, and foreign interference in Hong Kong. The move is largely seen by observers as a tool to crack down on dissent and pro-democracy efforts in Hong Kong, which exists as a special administrative region of China. It lays waste to the concept of “one country, two systems” which has effectively governed Hong Kong’s relationship with China since the handover from the British in 1997, and will allow China’s Ministry of State Security to operate in Hong Kong’s jurisdiction.

It’s not the first time that China has tried to flex its authority over Hong Kong. Recall that the massive protest movement which erupted last July was rooted in the filing of an extradition law, which would enable Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to countries with no existing extradition treaties or agreements with its government, raising fears that Hongkongers could be extradited to China on trumped-up charges in order to silence or punish them. Eventually, the bill was tabled, but the situation had escalated so greatly that the protests continued well after–and in staggering numbers. “Five demands, not one less” became their battle cry.

Hongkongers reacted the same way when the Hong Kong legislature tried to introduce a similar national security law back in July 2003. With more than half a million people turning up on the streets to protest, lawmakers had no choice but to shelve the proposal. Pro-Beijing legislators have made noises about resurrecting the proposal from time to time, but no clear efforts were made to make it a reality. Until now, that is.

Perhaps what is more appalling now is that China has chosen to make its move while the world is steeped in a global pandemic brought by COVID-19. The strategists in Beijing must have assumed that the action would pass unnoticed and uncontested, safe in the assumption that people would not risk their and their family’s health by going out to the streets to protest. In the nascent age of social distancing, such gatherings are deemed unsafe and could potentially accelerate the rate of transmission in the locality.

But boy, was Beijing wrong.

Defying social distancing measures, the people of Hong Kong are now back on the streets, railing against Beijing’s underhanded tactics. The Washington Post reports that tens of thousands of people have come out against China’s proposal, which has been met with opposition not just from Hong Kong but from other countries as well. The US has threatened sanctions against China if it insists on moving against Hong Kong’s autonomy. I can’t help but be on edge when I see images from the current protests on the news, a by-product of living under threat of COVID-19.

I’m sure the protesters know full well the risk they are facing now, not just from tear gas or rubber bullets, but from contracting the virus. Make no mistake about it, they know it too–except that what is at stake is far too important to leave to silence. It’s a true rock and a hard place situation for Hongkongers now: stay at home in order to avoid contracting the virus and find other ways of protest, or go out and risk their health in order to protect their freedom. To do either may have consequences for its people, but it is apparent that they have made their choice.

Hong Kong has chosen to fight.

‘If there’s one thing we’ve come to expect from government in the past weeks, it’s the fact it has succeeded magnificently in confusing the public.’

AND here we are, in yet another iteration of a lockdown, currently called the modified enhanced community quarantine. The MECQ is supposed to last until the end of May, with the caveat that it can shift to a general community quarantine situation if cases go down or back to an enhanced quarantine, should cases go up.

Truth be told, it’s hard to see how the current administration can make decisions on this one way or another, considering that our testing data has a backlog–meaning we’re not really seeing how many COVID-19 cases we have today; we’re seeing results from last week.

Our policy makers are walking a tight rope: on one hand, trying to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in our communities. On the other, recognizing the need to gradually open the rest of the economy so folks can earn a living. That tight rope will always be the burden of government–finding the best course forward, while considering seemingly conflicting factors and considerations.

If there’s one thing we’ve come to expect from government in the past weeks, it’s the fact it has succeeded magnificently in confusing the public. Remember when they told us early on that only those with symptoms should wear masks when out in public? Which eventually evolved into a “no mask, no entry” policy, captured for posterity in local government ordinances. And don’t get me started about curfews–perhaps my favorite was the 24-hour one–to which one of my friends quipped: “That’s not how a curfew works, Karen.”

Which brings us to the matter of whether or not returning employees should be required to take a COVID-19 test. The IATF says that there is no requirement to test asymptomatic employees before they are allowed to work, a policy which is probably grounded on two things: recognition that our facilities cannot test people fast enough to enable them to get back to work immediately, and second, government may not have the funds to pay for all the testing that needs to be done for the entire work force.

But here’s where the confusion begins: some local governments (as of this date, Paranaque City is one) are requiring employees of businesses registered in their jurisdiction to submit themselves to testing (at the expense of the employers) before a return-to-work type of permit can be issued.

If LGUs insist on this policy, businesses will have no choice but to follow as non-compliance can be a huge headache. Already, business owners are lamenting the added cost testing will mean for them, along with losses from the almost two months of non or minimal operation. They will have to decide whether to house their employees for yet an indeterminate period of time (which is another operating expense) or to have frequent testing to ensure that employees are healthy to work (yet another expense.)

Another unintended consequence of following the LGU policy of required testing is that owners will be forced to buy rapid test kits from less than acceptable sources. If you’re part of a market place type of chat group, you may already have seen a number of sellers hawking rapid test kits. As one friend told me: “I’ve had ten offers from different people. But there’s really no way of knowing whether they are legit or not.” The dangers of using unreliable test kits are many: among them yielding false negatives that will mistakenly allow those with the virus to falsely think they are COVID-free.

And so it will go, until someone steps in and tries to straighten out these conflicting rules between local and national government. And the confusion will certainly generate more harm than good: it will delay the opening of establishments unnecessarily, slowing the much-needed economic activity that drives livelihood.

Until then, stay safe, folks. Whatever other names they come up for this quarantine in the coming weeks, don’t forget: the virus is still out there.

‘Everyone gets that the Department of Education and all the schools are playing catch up with the situation, but there is a lot of uncertainty about what kind of learning our kids are going to have when the school year finally opens.’

FOR parents with school-aged children, the month of May usually signals the start of preparations for the coming school year: enrolment, buying school things, medical check-ups, savoring what’s left of summer vacation. This year is markedly different from what we have come to expect, in many ways than one.

My parent chat groups have been solidly chattering about what’s in store for our kids this coming school year. There are a lot of unanswered concerns and questions posed by parents to each other, in the hope that these are eventually raised to the school administration. By now we all accept that schools won’t be opening in June, and the Department of Education just announced that classes will be resuming in late August, but we don’t know just yet whether classes can already be conducted face-to-face. Private schools were given the green light to start earlier than that, provided that students will not be required to physically attend classes, with the guidance that only distance learning modules should be adopted.

Everyone gets that the Department of Education and all the schools are playing catch up with the situation, but there is a lot of uncertainty about what kind of learning our kids are going to have when the school year finally opens. Some of the parents I’ve talked to who send their kids to different schools echo pretty much the same concerns: apart from the lack of plans presented to parents about the nitty-gritty of distance learning, none of the schools seem to have a solid plan of how to go about online classes.

It sounds like the best idea for now: children will go online to still listen and learn from their teachers, so they will not be exposed or become carriers of COVID-19 to their families. Except that we must contend with the realities of our own situation: first, internet connectivity even in urban areas leaves much to be desired. I’m not sure if the internet providers can even move quick enough to meet the demand once school starts, especially if schools implement distance learning which will be heavy on streaming videos.

Second, how will families with several students deal with distance learning? While details are hazy at best, some parents are already asking if separate gadgets and/or computers will be required per student. Doing so will require families to invest in more equipment at a time when finances are strained. I haven’t seen any prescribed learning software programs from DepEd, and until such time that DepEd comes out with recommendations, private schools will be tasked with choosing the program they will use. Hopefully there are open source materials available to cushion the cost for schools.

Thirdly, parents who are not privileged enough to have domestic angels at home worry about who will watch their kids during online classes, especially once they will be required to start reporting for office work. This means either one parent will have to stay and work from home in order to make sure that their kids are actually doing their school work during school hours. This will be less of a problem for those with kids in the higher levels, but this is a real concern for parents with children in kinder until Grade 3.

I hope this is addressed by DepEd and CHED too — the matter of tuition fees. Admittedly, a lot of parents are expecting a decrease in tuition fees for the year, given that the first few months are expected to be spent via distance learning. However, I have heard violent reactions from parents who send their kids to various schools that the tuition fee expected to be paid is the same as last year’s tuition. While private schools survive on income from tuition fees, maybe school administrations can come up with a staggered or graduated fee structure of some sort, based on the actual learning set up. And I’m not just talking about accepting payments on a monthly or quarterly basis, but assessing how much tuition should be in a quarter that is done mostly on distance learning. This sort of set-up can provide both schools and parents flexibility in increasing or decreasing fees, as dictated by prevalent learning circumstances.

In any case, I hope our educators get a firmer grasp on what the school year will look like for our children soon, keeping in mind the realities that families face on the ground. As always, I hope that whatever resolution will have in mind the best interest of children when it comes to dealing with the new learning landscape we are facing.

IT would have been the joke of the week except that it’s not minutely funny: in a bid to defend government’s decision to have Philippine offshore gaming operators to resume partial operations, Malacañang said that POGOs are covered by the business process outsourcing industry. There was no explanation or justification for this sudden classification as a BPO, but my guess is some bright mind latched on the “outsourcing” and “offshore” as similar concepts and therefore alike.

I take it that the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines isn’t any bit amused by the comparison, judging from the firm but otherwise very polite statement it issued regarding the matter. IBPAP pointed out key differences between the two, which I will attempt to summarize in the following paragraphs (and perhaps capture more what they really wanted to say).

IBPAP pointed out that BPO companies are registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority or the Board of Investments, while POGOs are registered with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation. The fact that POGOs need to be registered with PAGCOR is already indicative of the nature of its business: gambling.

Next, IBPAP diplomatically pointed out that while both BPO companies and POGOs have a similar characteristic–their services are performed for clients outside the Philippines–the work performed by BPOs is not illegal in the country of origin. Front and back end services like customer service, human resource projects, accounting, and other high-value BPO services are not considered illicit in the countries that BPOs serve, unlike gambling for POGOs.

The third point of IBPAP (and here I feel the utmost restraint guided the drafting of this part) is that BPO companies offer a wide range of high-value skills to their clients. Only the universe knows what kinds of skills are required by POGOs when they employ their Chinese employees to serve their Chinese clientele.

The last point, ever so diplomatically crafted: BPOs employ more than a million Filipinos; 1.3 million to be precise. It was projected to create hundreds of thousands more, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. How many jobs has this influx of POGOs generated again? Quite the opposite, of course. Not only that, but the housing requirements of POGO employees has increased rental rates in the surrounding areas, but have also been ejected by LGUs from doing business in certain jurisdictions because of the proliferation of crime and sex dens catering to POGO employees.

The differences between BPOs and POGOs do not end there, of course. BPOs drive the Philippine economy, while the Bureau of Internal Revenue is literally at a loss when it comes to collecting taxes from POGOs. Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon pointed out an important point: the classification of POGOs as BPOs has a dangerous implication: the pronouncement can be used as a shield against paying franchise fees, as well as to claim incentives similar to those who are legitimately part of the BPO industry. Drilon further vivisected the defense that revenue from POGOs will help the Philippine government fund much-needed programs to fight COVID-19, citing data from the BIR that 60 licensed POGOs actually owe government roughly P50 billion in unpaid taxes in 2019 alone. “That’s a very deceptive assertion. It is the POGOs that owe the government billions of pesos in unpaid taxes. Bayaran muna nila yan,” Drilon said. Touché, sir. Touché.

Then again, the government’s obvious favor for POGOs has always been on display, never hidden from view. Perhaps it is the extraordinary time we are living in that makes this favor leave more than just a bad taste in our mouths: at a time when millions of those in the Pinoy working class are struggling to meet two squares a day because of the enhanced community quarantine, POGOs are again given the royal treatment, despite the glaring fact that they contribute very little to the Philippine economy, and do not even benefit Filipinos. I’ll say it outright: we seem to have become second-class citizens in our own country.

WE’RE in it for the long haul, dear millennials and fillennials.

The enhanced community quarantine has been extended for another two weeks in Luzon and other areas, owing to the fact that COVID-19 cases are still going up, albeit at a relatively slower pace. I don’t disagree with this decision, and foresee another extension beyond May 15.

However, government must continue to step up testing efforts in order to truly see how widespread the virus is among our communities. Without it, no amount of lockdown can help us flatten the curve, since we will have incomplete information about the true situation. Think about it: how can government effectively implement isolation measures when it has one hand tied behind its back?

A wholesale decision to isolate everybody brings with it the stark reality we face–many of our countrymen are poor and can no longer afford to skip work. A big segment of our population can no longer continue to wait for relief from government, should more extensions be implemented in the future.

Barangays and local governments are already feeling the strain of running point for their constituents, and exacerbated by the fact that the Social Amelioration Program was badly communicated. It seems that there is a big disparity between what was announced by government as to the number of families that will be covered by the aid. Pasig City under Mayor Vico Sotto has stepped up and is moving to cover the disparity with the LGU’s own funds, which is a good thing. But sadly, not all LGUs are in a position to do the same, for a variety of reasons.

While national government is ever so slowly catching up with what needs to be done, it’s good that local governments, despite the massive burden left on its shoulders, are continuing to power through the situation. Individual cities have implemented their own mass testing programs: Valenzuela, Makati, Quezon City, and Pasig. These programs will help the guide their respective local executives when it comes to deciding which persons will need to be placed in isolation centers, and which areas will need more attention.

Mass testing will also help government determine which industries and businesses can be allowed to resume operations. Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon, in his support for the Department of Labor’s proposal to allow workers from the construction, manufacturing, and agricultural subject to social distancing protocols, put it bluntly: “The social unrest that could result from two million workers unemployed for the past six weeks is a reality we face.” The support for DOLE is not unqualified, as Drilon cautions that any resumption of work in these sectors should be coupled with “rapid and mass testing” to prevent any further spread among the employees.

This condition prevents any reopening to be similar to that implemented in the state of Georgia in the United States, where salons, spas, tattoo parlors and other non-essential establishments were allowed to open (even bowling alleys!) despite the lack of a viable plan for testing within the state, and despite figures from the CDC showing that Georgia isn’t anywhere near flattening the curve.

While the race for finding a cure and a vaccine is on hyper drive, medical experts say that realistically, the world is looking at a year and a half before a safe vaccine can be approved, manufactured, and made available globally. It’s possible that there may be a gradual easing of restrictions in the near term, but that does not mean we can go back to our pre-COVID ways. We will all have to drastically alter our old behavior to ensure that we do not further the spread of the virus.

Until then, keep safe, be kind to those you meet, and wash your hands properly.

THE COVID-19 pandemic has certainly disrupted our lives, in every way imaginable. From the previously mundane commute to work, to how we behave when we see friends and loved ones, COVID-19 is changing how we will behave in a post-pandemic world. Just two months ago, Pinoys commuted without much of a thought about cramming themselves in a jeep or UV express. We all greeted our friends and loved ones with hugs and besos, some with a friendly slap on the back. We didn’t hesitate to go out and line up for pandesal in the morning, nor brave a crowded talipapa after work to buy something for dinner.

All these seemingly innocuous gestures and little ways will now change. Social distancing is now a buzz word among citizens, but most of us are still struggling to adjust to being six feet apart from the next living human being. Concerts at the Araneta Center or SM Arena were part of the ordinary fabric of life then, as were gatherings and religious processions. But in a world ravaged by COVID-19, images of more than 10 people in a room spark anxiety and uncertainty, with one thinking: “That’s too close. Miss Rona is coming.”

“Miss Rona” is the slang for COVID-19, used mainly in the context of “covidiots” (a portmanteau of COVID-19 and idiot) who flout social distancing restrictions despite repeated warnings from the authorities and medical experts.

Even businesses, especially the smaller ones, are feeling the pinch. With doors shuttered for five weeks now, many businesses are facing the possibility of having a shorter and shorter runway for their finances in order to survive. According to a survey conducted by Acudeen Technologies, 54% of the SMEs they surveyed fear that an extended lockdown could force them to close for good.

The government recently announced the beginnings of a stimulus package to help micro, small, and medium enterprises weather the storm. If it’s anything like DSWD’s Social Amelioration Program or DOLE’s COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program, it will not come on time, and it will not be enough. I hope government looks at the learnings from both programs to see how the stimulus package can be improved to help MSMEs more.

An unintended consequence of the pandemic is that more Filipino businesses have been thrust into what APEC calls the digital economy. APEC has long held the belief that going digital will help MSMEs get on the train to stability, but governments must provide adequate support to help them get onboard.

We see it everywhere now: last-mile logistics companies (the delivery riders who bring you whatever you need from point A to point B) are saving those locked down in their homes from going out. Specialty Viber groups have proliferated, with categories serving baking supplies, furniture, appliances, fresh vegetables and produce, and many others. Try joining one and you’ll see that brick-and-mortar shops have a huge presence in these groups, as a way to still sell their wares despite their shops being closed.

Whenever there are transactions, payments will always follow. Banks have noted an increase in the use of its online platforms since the lockdown was imposed, owing to the fact that people would rather not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. In view of this development, MSMEs wanting to stay in business must find ways to reach their markets via social media, and get on platforms that will assist them in facilitating not just payments but with dispatching and delivering orders.

This may be an unpopular opinion but it has to be said – there may be no going back to a pre-COVID normal.

Our communities, our businesses, and most importantly, our families, must learn what we can from this experience so we can adjust our new norms accordingly. Of all, government must, must, learn from this experience so it will be better prepared to actually help its people (instead of being a hindrance) should a similar problem confront us in the near future.

Until then, stay safe, be kind to others, and always wash your hands properly.

I stood next to a young man at the seafood section of the supermarket the other day while waiting for my fish to be cleaned. The store had just opened for the day and for some reason, the fifty customers allowed in made a beeline for the vegetable and fruit section, the meat section, and the seafood section. It was apparent that everyone wanted to finish their shopping as quick as possible, while consciously trying to keep a safe distance as much as possible from other shoppers.

This young man, who looked like he was in his early twenties, looked back and forth at the spread of fish and seafood and his list, written on a quarter sheet of white paper. I could tell that he was trying to match what was on his list to the items available, which was quite a challenge because some of the tags were left askew on the bed of crushed ice in the general rush to serve everybody. Not wanting to intrude, I kept silent and watched the scene before me: shoppers of all ages giving their orders to staff, some asking questions about the day’s catch, others milling around to see what was available. After a few more minutes, the young man had tried to catch the attention of one of the staff members by raising his hand slightly. I watched him open his mouth to speak but seemed to have thought the better of it and kept quiet.

I caught his eye and said, “Ikaw ba ang quarantine tribute?” (Are you the quarantine tribute?) He let out a small laugh and said, “Yes.” I laughed back, and said, “Don’t be shy.” I turned around and raised my voice a little and said “Ate, may order siya” (“He wants to order”) and left after she had handed me my fish. I think he smiled at me when I left (he had a mask on so I could not be sure) and I gave him a little wave as I pushed my cart away.

If you’re wondering what a Quarantine Tribute is, it’s the chosen person in the household to go out and get supplies during the enhanced community quarantine. Owing to the fact that older people and those with underlying conditions are at higher risk for contracting COVID-19, the task of going out on supply runs has fallen to the younger members of the household. “Tribute” is a pop culture reference from the trilogy The Hunger Games, where members of the poor districts are offered as forced participants in a fight-to-the-death televised show, orchestrated for the grotesque entertainment of the wealthy and privileged audience from the capitol.

As of this writing, a group called “Quarantine Tribute Tips” had close to twenty-nine thousand members, which is quite high for a group created just last March 26. You see, that young man wasn’t alone. There are tens of thousands out there just like him, if we go by the number of members in this single group. Here, people share tips on how to buy certain kinds of fruit, (like watermelon) which pharmacies can take phone-in orders for pick up, (Mercury Drug, Watson’s, Southstar) and how long fresh vegetables and fruits last with proper storage. My dear fillennials might be laughing at their questions, but maybe we should take this opportunity to actually answer their questions instead of dismissing it.

Sure, most of these tributes are the likely choice for their household, but let us not forget the fact that they have taken the burden gracefully in order to protect the most vulnerable ones in their lives.

Those of us who are privileged enough to work from home find that we have extra time on our hands. I see a lot of folks getting back in the kitchen, and also those who are venturing in there for the first time; those who downloaded exercise program apps to try and keep fit while on lockdown; those who have gone the crafting way to jog their creative juices. We are living in extraordinary times and are entitled to find ways to cope, be it whipping dalgona coffee after watching a YouTube video or trying to cut your hair with clippers ordered online.

Let us also remember those who need our help the most during this quarantine: daily wage earners who are now out of work, our health and essential workers who care for fellow Filipinos  in our hospitals, grocery personnel who walk for miles to get to work, janitors who make sure that our surroundings are clean. Keep asking government important questions about their plans to help this country through the pandemic. You might think that you don’t need to depend on government aid or action, but speak for the countless others who do.

Stay safe, be kind to everyone you come across, and always wash your hands properly.