Surviving the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic is not easy. It is not just the virus that people are afraid of but also of losing their means of living.

Among the greatly affected by this pandemic is Marjorie Nocos, a 44-year old solo parent of Barangay Minto, Guinobatan, Albay, who sells vegetables as a source of livelihood to feed her four (4) children.

According to Marjorie, one of the problems she came across with during the community quarantine was the lack of transportation as she needed a vehicle to haul her vegetables to the market.

“Upang malampasan ito, kailangan ko gumising ng maaga at maglakad galing sa bahay papunta sa sentro para magtinda. Kailangan mo magtiyaga para makabenta,” Marjorie said.

(To resolve the problem, I wake up early and walk from home to downtown Guinobatan to sell my vegetables. I needed to persevere in order to have an income.)

To provide assistance for poor or low-income families during the pandemic like Marjorie, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) gave emergency subsidy under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

An eligible beneficiary receives PhP5,000.00 each month for two (2) months for April and May 2020. However, for the second tranche of SAP, only the province of Albay will receive the PhP5,000.00 subsidy for the month of May per Memo of Executive Secretary dated May 02, 2020 for Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) areas.

For the first tranche of SAP, Marjorie said that she used the assistance as capital for her vegetable business.

“Yung nakuha ko naman na ayuda sa ikalawang tranche, idadagdag ko ulit bilang puhunan dahil magsisimula na ang klase ng aking mga anak,” she explained.

(The subsidy I have received for the second tranche will be added to my capital that will eventually be used for my children’s education.)

“Dahil ako lang bumubuhay sa aking mga anak, idadagdag ko ulit yung ayuda bilang puhunan para lumago at hindi mawala yung binigay ng gobyerno,” Marjorie added.

(Since I am the only breadwinner of the family, I used the government’s subsidy as a capital for my business because I want it to grow and not be put to waste.)

Marjorie also thanked DSWD for the assistance she has received. She also cheerfully said that waiting for the assistance was worth it because it greatly helped her family.

“Para sa mga nakatanggap, gamitin natin yung pera sa mabuti dahil ibinigay ito ng gobyerno kaya gawin nating tama ang paggastos,” she advised.

(For the beneficiaries who received the subsidy, use the assistance wisely since it was given by the government.)

Marjorie is one of the thousands of people who triple their efforts to survive this crisis. Every step she takes going to downtown Guinobatan to sell her vegetables is indeed a great sacrifice considering the threats of contracting the virus. Truly, nothing can surmount a mother’s love for her family. /ramsertan