MANILA, Philippines – It appears that Spiderman is really your friendly neighborhood, even in times of a global pandemic.
Manila’s street dwellers were treated to a pleasant surprise when officers of condominium-sharing firm Hey Homies! distributed food packs while wearing a spiderman suit as personal protective equipment (PPE).
According to a Facebook post by Vice President Leni Robredo, her office’s Angat Buhay program — which has catered services for people affected by the enhanced community quarantine — partnered with Hey Homies! in distributing food packs.
“Nitong linggo, nakipagtulungan tayo sa pamunuan ng Hey Homies! condominiums, na hindi lamang namigay ng pagkain mula sa ating mga donors, kundi nagdala rin ng mga ngiti sa mga street dwellers at mga frontliners sa Maynila,” Robredo said.
(This Sunday, we coordinated with the management of Hey Homies! condominiums, which not only distributed food packs from our donors but also brought smiles for street dwellers and from frontliners in Manila.)
“Suot ang Spider-Man suit bilang pag-iingat sa virus, nag-ikot sa lungsod si Johemie Quiñones, kasama ang iba pang miyembro ng pamunuan ng Hey Homies!, upang tulungan tayong ipamigay ang mga food packs mula sa mga kababayan nating patuloy na nagpaparamdam ng malasakit sa pamamagitan ng pag-sponsor at paghahanda ng mga pagkain,” she added.
(Wearing the Spiderman suits to protect themselves from the virus, Johemie Quiñones and other members of Hey Homies! roamed around the city to distribute food packs from our countrymen who have continuously helped by sponsoring and preparing food.)
Aside from street dwellers, members of the firm also handed food packs to frontliners who are still required to work despite the lockdown.
Robredo said that idea came about after Hey Homies!’s tenants, most of which are students in Metro Manila, worried about the fate of the street dwellers who have been shorthanded even before the lockdown started.
Due to the rising COVID-19 cases, the government was forced to place an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) over Luzon and other areas, which suspended work except for those in frontline services.
“Naipamahagi ang mga food packs na ito sa mga nakatira sa iba’t ibang kalye sa Maynila, gayundin sa mga frontliners gaya ng mga opisyal ng barangay, mga tanod, food delivery riders, at security guards,” Robredo noted.
(The food packs were distributed to those living along the streets of Manila, plus our frontliners like barangay officials, barangay police, food delivery riders, and security guards.)
“Ayon kina Johemie, ang pamimigay nila ng pagkain sa gitna ng [ECQ] ay tugon sa pakiusap ng mga tenants nilang college students, na nag-alala sa mga street dwellers na nakaugalian na nilang bigyan ng tulong. Nagsasalitan sila ng kaniyang mga kasama sa pagsusuot ng Spider-Man suit, na pinagmumulan rin ng saya ng mga nakakasalamuha nila,” she explained.
(According to Johemie, their decision to distribute food packs came from the pleas of their tenants, most are college students, who have been concerned over the fate of street dwellers whom they have helped before the ECQ. They have been taking turns in wearing the Spider-Man suit, which also brought happiness to people whom they have encountered.)
Robredo’s Office of the Vice President (OVP) has spearheaded several programs during the lockdown, like the partnering with the private sector in providing free shuttles and dormitory services for health workers and other frontliners.
Aside from these, OVP has also collected over P50 million worth of PPEs from various donations.
As of now, Luzon and other areas are still under the ECQ due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. Department of Health officials said that there are currently 5,453 infected patients — 349 of which have already died while at least 353 have recovered.
Worldwide, over 1.98 million individuals have been infected, while 126,834 have died from the disease and 484,109 have recovered from it.