ROXAS CITY – Angelita Gustilo, 67, is a mother to seven and a resident of Libas, Roxas, City, Capiz. As of the moment, she is living with one of her children. As a senior citizen, she now rely on the earnings of her husband, who is a fisherman, and from the help of her children. However, fisherfolks in Roxas City are not only facing imposed curfew due to pandemic but also natural occurrences like huge waves and typhoons. All of which, affected their fishing, which led to low fish catch.

Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, Nanay Angelita’s husband can earn around 1,000 pesos a day for fishing. However, portions of will be given back to the owner of the motorized boat and for the gasoline. The remaining amount is what Nanay Angelita try to budget to sustain their daily needs. “Before pandemic, we can somehow eat enough food everyday,” Nanay Angelita said.

“It is different now [that pandemic happened] than before. Now, you cannot go out because of restriction policies,” Nanay Angelita said when asked to describe the impact of pandemic in their family. Almost half of the earnings of Nanay Angelita’s husband was loss due to pandemic, not to mention the typhoons and huge waves that disables fisherfolks to go fishing.

There were also times when her husband was caught fishing beyond curfew hours, which suspends him from fishing for days.

In teary eyes, Nanay Angelita said, “its really difficult because you cannot sometimes buy what you need since prices [of basic commodities] are very high.” “When you feel sick, you have nothing to buy medicine,” Nanay Angelita added.

Nanay Angelita is one of the 885 beneficiaries of Mercy Relief’s Relief Assistance for Communities Affected by COVID-19 in Western Visayas, where she received food packs composed of rice, mung beans, dried fish, cooking oil, and sardines. She also received hygiene kits composed of face masks, alcohol, and hand soap.

“We are really thankful to those who gave these blessings. This can really help us sustain for days,” Nanay Angelita ended.//PCDR