Girl wears improvised protective gear to get close to cop dad on his birthday

MANILA, Philippines — While our frontliners deal with the health crisis brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic with a brave face, they also long to hold tight their families during this time.

In Bacolod City, a policeman detailed with the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office received the best surprise on his 27th birthday.

After 12 days of not seeing his family while performing his duties as a law enforcer at the frontlines of the fight against the coronavirus, Cpl. Jamal Ali Inapan came home on Monday.

A few steps from his house, he was welcomed by his six-year-old daughter Ali, dressed in improvised protective gear just so she can get near her father. She held a “Happy Birthday Daddy” birthday cake.

This heart-warming sight was shared by Joly Marie Garces Masa, the policeman’s partner, in a Facebook post.

“Nakita ko sa mukha niya na parang luluha na siya pero pinipigilan niya, which he admitted, kasi sabi niya hindi niya gustong makita ng bata na umiiyak siya,” Masa said in an interview with INQUIRER.net.

(I saw in his face that he was almost about to cry but he was holding back his tears. He admitted that and said that he does not want his daughter to see him crying.)

The conversation of the policeman and his first of two children only took 3 minutes.

According to Masa, Inapan no longer regularly comes home to keep his family safe from the virus. When he delivers food at their home, he only drops it at their gate to maintain physical contact with his loved ones.

“Always he shares na pagod siya (that he is tired) and he wants to take enough rest,” shared Masa.

For a six-year-old girl, it is just but normal to miss a parent who has been away for days.

“Ali is very vocal about her feelings, halos (almost) every now and then, she’s telling us na (that) she misses daddy na,” said Masa.

She added that Ali even often requests to have a video call with her father just “to make sure he’s okay.”

In her Facebook post, Masa shared that moment when their daughter approached her partner was “heartbreaking.”

“Ali endured the heat wearing this plastic, only to hug her daddy, greet him a happy birthday and give the letter she made last night just for him,” she said in the caption.

Masa then urged everyone to stay home as a way to help frontliners like Inapan.

“Please stay at home, so that these frontliners can go home to their kids waiting every single day for them to arrive. Please stay at home so that you can save the frontliners’ lives at stake. Please stay at home for the kids to hug their parents once again. Please stay at home because these frontliners missed their families so much,” she said.

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