MANILA (UCAN): Father Rodel Enverga of the Archdiocese of Jaro, Iloilo, and Father Christian Fargueras of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, in Mindanao, said lockdowns announced by the Philippine government would bring more poverty to communities already hit hard by the Covid-19 coronavirus [SARS-CoV-2] pandemic.
Iloilo province in the Visayas region, together with two other cities in Mindanao, were placed under enhanced community quarantine [ECQ] from August 1 to 7 in an attempt to contain the fast-spreading Delta variant. An ECQ is effectively a total lockdown.
The two priests feared the lockdowns would exacerbate people’s suffering due to the loss of jobs, potentially creating another disaster.
“Once we begin the ECQ on August 1, more people will be retrenched from work. Here in this province, many of our families earn their living in small-scale businesses,” Father Enverga said.
He said that many of his parishioners are service providers such as waiters and shopkeepers.
“They are highly dependent on their jobs. If these establishments close, where will they get money to buy food and spend on educating their children?” he said.
Father Enverga called lockdowns a “Band-Aid” solution in a country where people are going hungry.
Father Fargueras referred to a recent survey, conducted by private research firm Social Weather Stations, that revealed more Filipinos have been going to bed hungry since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
“More households were reported not having enough food to eat. The food inflation rate was at 6.2 per cent in March and more than one out of five Filipinos didn’t have enough food at some point in 2020, a record high that was double before the pandemic began,” Father Fargueras said.
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He said Mindanao is still the poorest region in the Philippines with millions of families with a quarterly income of less than 5,000 pesos (US$100).
