The implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon has led to heartbreaking scenes of Filipinos bracing for the impact of the lockdown.
These included workers desperately running after a truck to get a ride; a taxi driver in tears, worried over how to provide for his family with all transportation banned; employees walking four to six hours to get to their workplaces; and market vendors pleading for help.
While necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the lockdown appeared to have worsened the economic plight of many Filipinos, especially those in the informal sector and working under a no-work-no-pay scheme.
To help our Kapamilyas survive this difficult time, ABS-CBN launched Thursday a campaign to assist local governments provide food and basic necessities to poor families unable to source livelihood as a result of the lockdown.
The campaign, called "Pantawid ng Pag-ibig," aims to raise funds by mobilizing private companies and individuals willing to help, according to ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo Katigbak.
The Lopez Group, to which ABS-CBN belongs, is donating P100 million to jump-start the initiative, said Katigbak.
Katigbak, who spoke on the network's flagship news program "TV Patrol," also called on corporations to donate products which could be distributed among the poor.
The call was supported by ABS-CBN's major actors Angel Locsin and Coco Martin, who separately appealed for help.
Katigbak said the company will partner with local government units who will package and distribute the items to the barangays.
"Uumpisahan po namin ito sa Metro Manila at umaasa po kaming sa pamamagitan ng tulong ninyo, maaabot din namin ang ibang nangangailangang barangay," said Katigbak.
"Hangad po namin na walang magugutom sa panahong ito," he added.
The government has imposed a Luzon-wide lockdown to contain the spread of the pneumonia-like disease, which was described by the World Health Organization as a pandemic after it killed nearly 8,000 and infected 197,000 others worldwide.
Several local governments in the Visayas and Mindanao have implemented their own measures, such as community quarantines and lockdowns, to combat COVID-19.
news.abs-cbn.com is the general news website of ABS-CBN Corp.
ABS-CBN, Pantawid ng Pag-ibig, Carlo Katigbak, public service, COVID-19, enhanced community quarantine, coronavirus disease, TV Patrol, TV Patrol TOP, Pantawid ng Pag-Ibig, Luzon lockdown, ayuda, ABS-CBN Foundation, coronavirus, COVID-19, COVID19, Lopez Group, ABS-CBN Corp., Kapamilya