With everyone now forcibly becoming a full-time ‘stay-at-home citizens’ for weeks, staying indoors in one of the most effective ways to free ourselves from the virus. In this state of majority confinement, this quarantine period has revealed different versions of ourselves--admit it! The crisis led us to discover some of our personalities which can be adjusted depending on the happenings around us. Want to know what type of a ‘quarantiner’ are you this pandemic period? Here are some of the personalities who might be considered ourselves and who they are among our friends!  THE DEEP SLEEPER They are the ones...

Scientists and medical experts have spent most of the time of their lives studying about epidemic diseases. They are anticipating sudden outbreaks that may ravage human existence on the planet at any moment. In our history, humans have been faced some of the worst outbreaks in the past that no one could ever imagine before; claiming precious lives and drag the world to nothingness. In modern times, the ghost of the past is still haunting us through COVID-19. As the experts dubbed it as a new enemy, we are still on the run of knowing its full capacity and on...

Did you know that our national hero Jose Rizal also went through a quarantine? When Rizal decided to return to Europe for the second time, he left for Hong Kong on February 3, 1888. After a few weeks in Japan, he boarded the SS Belgic going to the US. When the SS Belgic arrived in San Francisco two weeks later, Rizal was surprised that they were not allowed to land. He spent six days in quarantine. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org Rizal's experiences mirror what we are going through right now in this Enhanced Community Quarantine during the COVID-19 health crisis. First, he...

Just because Metro Manila is under lockdown, it doesn’t mean that we can’t do some of our traditional practices during Lenten season. We can build an altar at home or attend some online Holy Week events online. Manila Cathedral San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila Catholics can virtually visit the churches from the safety of their homes as Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines or CBCP opens Visita Iglesia online. Without violating the government-imposed enhanced community quarantine and physical distancing, we can still do Visita Iglesia as one of our ways to atone for their sins. Caption Just visit Google...

Holy Week this year would not be the same anymore. It is not the usual celebration we used to have over the years. It feels different and seems to be an extraordinary one ‘cause we meant to celebrate it at home this year amid the COVID-19 crisis. Churches and spiritual groups will no longer hold some of our Filipino traditional practices which served as a vital part of our annual holy week celebration. Photo courtesy: Photo by Flickr user istolethetv via catholicsandcultures.org Streets along the house of God will never be the same again this year. Our traditional ‘Pabasa’ or...