Senator Sherwin Gatchalian
Senator of the Republic of the Philippines
SENATOR Gatchalian is keeping himself busy in these times of the pandemic and is on top of his duties as Senate Committee on Basic Education, Culture and Arts chairman.
He is pushing for a P300-billion standby fund under the Bayanihan to Recover as One bill, and Senate Committee on Energy chair. Currently, he is asking Meralco to explain to the consumers regarding their sky rocket bills. At the same time, he is active in serving in Valenzuela in support of his brother who is mayor in the city and being active in the national front.
He says, "I assist both: Valenzuela and the entire nation. But let's realistic, no one can assist the entire nation alone. No one has that much resources except government."
He is thriving because he is keeping himself busy with helping and being present in these times of crisis. In this photo, he shares with SunStar, he explains, "The kid is Covid negative. He's father was positive. They were our first recipients of our mass testing. We were the first LGU to conduct mass testing."
I can just imagine the amount of pressure Senator Gatchalian is faced with as all eyes are on government on how this crisis is being handled. He shares, "I keep myself positive and hopeful. In my own small way, we're trying to fight Covid by educating ourselves and reaching out to our invulnerable constituents. We cannot stop until this pandemic is arrested for good."
Ingrid Chua
Ingrid Chua, mother of two and bag columnist for Vogue Hong Kong, is another favorite person of mine who is very much aware in her surroundings, and the reality that this country is facing.
Even if she is on the upper tier of society, she is very much grounded and voices out her exasperation and intelligent observations on what is happening to our country.
She shares, "I live a very 'mobile' life so it was quite a change to stay put and not work in an environment that I had gotten accustomed to. I do love the fact that because I got hunkered down at home, that I get to see my kids daily and spend a lot of quality time with them as well -- I think this has been a truly unique experience, especially since I travel for work most of the time."
During the initial weeks of lockdown, I felt a lot of uneasiness due to my inability to do much to help the community, so I looked around for groups that already had access to supply chains and had logistics in place to help frontline workers. Found out that one of my former schoolmates, Fai Chua, spearheaded an initiative called Project Mustard Seed (IG: @projectmustardseed) to help provide PPEs, so my kids and I decided to help out in raising funds for them thru auctions and accessories sales on my Instagram.
Project Mustard Seed has mobilized teams for distribution and have helped so many institutions in the last two months. And I am so proud that Instagram friends have likewise participated in the fundraising efforts -- it was so encouraging to see members of the community actively helping out during the crisis.
On a personal level, I began experiencing anxiety and decided to take to baking to relieve it. I figured this was a good time as well to revisit an activity that I had so feared because of failure in the past. I have since become enamored with baking different variations of milk brioche and it had somehow eased my anxiety. So whenever I feel anxious, I just head to the kitchen to bake for family. I did gain 3kgs in the process with all the carbs though -- so I am trying to stay away from having mini bites of the bread I make. Not easy!
Ultimately during this time, we are just finding ways to continue communicating with our loved ones, dealing with anxiety due to the uncertainty of our future, and doing whatever we can to help our community."
There are many uncertainties in our country right now. I encourage you all to do the best you can within your circle and your community. Keep Healthy everyone!
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