We Heal as One: To empathize and to take action
As the number of confirmed coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases rises each day, it was no wonder that the President announced the extension of the Enhanced Community Quarantine to April 30 in Luzon. While we are hopeful that the country has started the road to recovery, much effort is still needed to flatten the curve of the pandemic. It’s important to know that agencies, especially from the government, make the most of what they can to help our sectors.
Since the quarantine started, our agency—the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP)—has been a lot busier because of the DEAR (Disaster/Emergency Assistance and Relief) programs that we recently launched. DEAR, as we fondly call it, is the agency’s quick response fund to support our displaced freelance audiovisual workers who were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The DEAR program is DEAR to my heart. It was a product of sleepless nights and hours of consultations to look for ways to help alleviate the situation of our workers who are experiencing a significant blow during this crisis.
Not many people know, but I am an empath or, in simpler terms, a highly sensitive person. According to psychologists, empaths are highly sensitive individuals, who have a keen ability to sense what people around them are thinking and feeling. Empaths tend to experience a great deal of empathy, often to the point of taking on pain of others at their own expense.
Every time I watch or hear a moving story about difficulties or tragedies, I end up bawling my eyes out. I get so overwhelmed with feelings to the point that I need to personally take action. This tendency to do so is not out of obligation, but because the empath in me takes others’ pain as my own. Sometimes, the need to ease that pain is so overwhelming that I practically leap into action without even knowing it. This part of my personality is naturally amplified, especially in these Covid-19 times. The problems and the experiences of others were all around me – from texts, e-mails, to my Messenger, on Facebook – and every single time, a feeling inside screamed for something to be done.
CMB Film Services, in particular, who we have partnered with in the past, applied for more than 300 of their displaced freelance workers who were among the most vulnerable. We expect more companies to follow suit, and the agency is ready to respond to this need. We have reallocated P20 million from our own fund to support this program and we are also hoping to be given additional funds to hit our target of assisting 50,000 more audio-visual freelance workers.
Our daily communication with our workers allowed us to continuously fine-tune our process with the primary goal of getting the aid as soon as possible while following the guidelines. We assist our workers on how to best comply given the quarantine without compromising the proper verification measures of the program. As a government agency, it is our duty to balance convenience and accountability, especially when we create initiatives that involve financial assistance.
And so far, we are proud to make a dent in helping our sector through DEAR. To date, the FDCP has released more than P5 million to over 650 freelance audio-visual content workers. My FDCP team and I are always accessible and hard at work, and it is rewarding to be a personal witness to how we serve our sector, one worker at a time.
In this time of quarantine, when we sometimes feel lost and unsure, it’s very reassuring to spend your day with a sense of purpose. That despite being confined in our own homes, we are taking action. Let us keep in mind that as long as we are contributing something, no matter how small, to solve this crisis, we are all helping each other to heal.
Notes from the Chair is part of the Filipino Champions section of The Sunday Times Magazine published by The Manila Times. Click HERE to view the article on The Manila Times website.
