Quarantined

Metro Manila started a 30-day “community quarantine” midnight of Sunday, March 15, 2020 to contain the spread of the COVID-19.

An empty street as viewed from my bedroom window 

The initial quarantine involves a ban on land, domestic air and sea travel in and out of NCR. Police and military personnel were deployed to manage peace and order. No one can leave or enter the region except health personnel, authorized government officials and workers that provide basic necessities and food preparation services.

Classes in all levels are suspended for a month. Malls, public places and most business establishments are closed until further notice, while church services and masses are also suspended for the meantime. Curfews were enforced by many cities in Metro Manila.

But then since the first announcement, many have scampered to supermarkets that shelves had been emptied when panicked shoppers bought alcohol, toilet paper, canned goods, meat products, bread, etc. by the bulk. Bus stations suddenly had an influx of passengers racing to go home to their provinces to avoid the lockdown.

It’s just like Christmas rush all over again, only that the atmosphere is far from happy.

Rest easy, pogi cousin

Death is always difficult when it comes like a thief in the night, or when it hits close to home, or when it takes a person who was once so animated and full of life.

I lost my cousin Allen (known to everyone as “Pongky”) to heart attack last Saturday. He was 40.

Only My Love is Fiercer

When I was young, I used to tell my mom in jest that I will never, ever be a strict disciplinarian like her. That I will never nag, harp on at or hit my kids. Instead, I will be open-minded and almost overindulgent. I will be more like my  “cool” dad who has a permissive parenting style.

“HA!” — she interjects with a chuckle, “Akala mo lang `yun!” (That’s what you think!)

Fast-forward to today, I realized that I did end up like her. That I am more like my mother than my father.

The apple never falls far from the tree, indeed.