With the entire Barangay Council members, including me, gathered in front of a wide table, facing one another inside the meeting room. The emergency meeting regarding the Corona Virus were able to proceed.
And to kick-start the said emergency meeting, Edgorio Toto, one of the councilors and also the one who called this meeting played a pre-recorded video of the President of the Republic of the Philippines' live press conference that happened this morning in the wide television screen on our right.
Sitting in the far corner of the meeting table in my comfortably soft chair, I took the chance to glance at every councilors as they put their attention onto the screen.
"..."
At a glance they all appear to be a group serious and hard-working councilors who had stayed in their position for about 6 years. But, even before the meeting began, they appear to be distant around each other. Despite being together for the past 6 years, it seemed that interacting with each other only happens if it's regarding their work.
It was then I was reminded that they're not in the same party. All of them came from different parties who are competing with one another during election campaigns. It is only natural that they would see each other as enemies and wouldn't want to work with another, but to drag the enemy-relationship even after being elected is uncalled for.
'Aside from them, the only one in the same party were Uncle Rene and the Barangay Captain. But...'
Upon further observation, I realized that Rene and the Barangay Captain doesn't talk much with each other either. It's as if they're not in the same party together during campaign.
I then concluded that Rene aren't really quite close to the Barangay Captain, much like the relationship with the others. Therefore, asking him more about the Captain might not be the best course of action. Incidentally, what's boggling my head now is the fact that the secretary seemed to be in good terms with the Captain.
Despite being enemies during their campaign days, they both appear to be more than acquainted with one another. In fact, the way they are interacting right in front of me and my slanted eyes make it seem like they are much more than being friends. They are the complete opposite of what is happening between the other councilors.
With that being said, if we want to get to know more about the Captain's schemes, the one person I should approach is the secretary of the Barangay Council, Lagara Anyo.
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Time went by with Sano joining the others as they watch the live press. After more than an hour, the said live press had ended.
And to summarize what the President said in his presscon...
It appeared that the efforts of trying to reduce the number of infected in the mainland by the Department of Health aren't enough to stop the virus from continuing to spread to the people. With that being brought into concern, the President announced that the administration itself will now take over the responsibility over fighting Corona Virus.
Following that statement, he began addressing his plan. The plan that which most people are already expecting to take by the Philippine Administration were to isolate the virus inside Metro Manila. That's right. With a deadly disease only continue to increase each day, the only way to keep it from spreading into thousands of people is by keeping it in its place.
And so, on March 12th, the mainland or Metro Manila, will be put under lockdown. Or as the President call it, the "Community Quarantine."
Once the Community Quarantine has been put in place, movement in Metro Manila will be strictly limited. Regardless of age and health status, only those who have a Quarantine Pass (Given one person per family) can go outdoors to buy necessities for their families' needs. There are also some rules that must be followed no matter what. Such as the mandatory use of protective gears like face masks, and to keep a couple meter distance against one another in order to avoid further transmission of the disease. Those who do not follow the rules will be arrested, following with punishments depending on the violation one had committed.
Construction projects will be on hold. Shopping malls, shopping districts, resorts, local tourist spots and all sorts of commercial businesses around Metro Manila will be closed indefinitely. As a result, employees will be out of their work until the situation goes for the better. However, there are other operations that will require and continue to operate within Metro Manila such as Food, Power and Water utility services.
Going in and out of Metro Manila will be strictly prohibited. All the roads connected to Metro Manila will be closed once the scheduled date arrives. However, a selected number of people will still be able to enter the city.
Nurses and Doctors working at hospitals inside Metro Manila will be the higher priority as they will be the ones taking care of patients carrying the virus until they recover, or the other way around. They are the frontliners. As for normal civilians, only those who got a Quarantine Pass can enter and exit the city after buying their needs. Since public transportations are obviously not available, they will either endure walking miles towards the nearest grocery stores or pharmacies, or wait for the time scheduled free mobile transportations that will be organized by the LGUs (Local Government Unit) in their respective Barangays near Metro Manila. The said operation will start to operate once the Community Quaratine starts.
And to conclude this summary, land, domestic air, and domestic sea travels are suspended. Meaning that the country will no longer accept foreign visitors coming from other foreign countries and those who are planning to go out of town will be immediately halted. This is to keep the virus from other countries to reach Philippines and contribute to the spread of the virus that are currently in our country.
After that, the President ensured the public that further actions will be made depending on how the situation will turn out and the presscon came to a close.
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Soon as the live press ended, Toto grabbed the remote control with his hand and turned off the TV. Then, he stood in front of us and began to speak.
"Just like what you've heard during the pre-recorded presscon of the President, the situation seem to only get worse." Said the councilor. And without further dragging his speech, he then declare... "As one of the Barangay Councilors working for the benefit of the Barangay and its people, I hereby propose that our Barangay Silangan should be put under Community Quarantine."