Bayanihan has been at the center of Marino Partylist’s COVID-19 responses since the beginning of the pandemic. After a combined 5.2 million doses of Moderna and Janssen vaccines have arrived in the Philippines this July 2021, we can surely say bayanihan exists at a global level too.
When the US donated the vaccines, 30,000 doses of Moderna were allocated especially for Filipino seafarers. There has been a high demand for the single-dose Janssen (J&J) also, as seafarers primed for deployment won’t have to wait for the second dose before they leave the country.
“We’ve come a long way since last year. All our efforts have been aligned with the administration’s global solidarity efforts as our COVID-19 response,” Marino Partylist First Rep. Sandro Gonzalez said. “Laying the groundwork for these trying times was the first thing we did, and the Marino Action Center was the very foundation that made our efforts in tune with the needs of our seafarers.”
When the pandemic hit the Philippines, Marino Partylist received a flood of messages not only from seafarers who lost their jobs, but also from displaced seafarers in Metro Manila searching for jobs or awaiting deployment. The partylist helped many of these displaced seafarers return home through the Balik Probinsya program. With the help of DSWD, financial assistance (ayuda) was provided for those displaced or laid off work.
Meanwhile, in partnership with DOLE and the TUPAD program, temporary and permanent jobs such as those in health community projects, community sanitation activities, and even call center training were rolled out to seafarers and select family members, to help ease their financial woes. Alongside all these, volunteers of the partylist traveled continuously for six months providing relief goods and medicines to seafarers and their families across the country.
“By September 2020, we built the Marino Action Center with help desks in Manila, Cebu, and Davao, to further strengthen our connection with seafarers and assist them better with their needs,” Marino Partylist Second Representative Macnell Lusotan said. “Under this action center, seafarers can receive various kinds of assistance, not just medical, financial, burial, and livelihood training programs, but also for deployment purposes such as expediting their passport renewal and MARINA-issued certificates.”
When it started in 2020, the Marino Action Center was only receiving about 50 walk-ins a week. Now as of July 2021, the action center receives about 450 seafarers and their dependents weekly, and this number continues to rise every week. In partnership with DOH, medical assistance to as much as P400,000 weekly are granted out to those in need as well.
In addition, the action center sends out guarantee letters to the partylist’s constituents and their dependents, should they need medical operations or check-ups in government hospitals such as the Philippine General Hospital, the Philippine Heart Center, the Lung Center of the Philippines, and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute.
“In the midst of this global crisis, we are being tested to work together, act fast, and serve more,” Rep. Sandro Gonzalez said. “After the height of the pandemic passed, our concern now is to protect our seafarers and their families. Of course, the vaccination is our priority, and more importantly the single-dose Janssen (J&J) vaccines, as this means faster deployment of our seafarers.”
“We’re thankful to the Duterte administration, to Sec. Carlito Galvez, Jr., and Sen. Bong Go for listening and responding to our concerns,” Rep. Gonzalez continued. “Very soon, we will issue a personal accident insurance policy for our seafarers and their families to better protect themselves in these trying times. With all these efforts combined, we can truly say bayanihan exists and we will see the end of this storm with an even more solid marino community.”
