“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” This quotation by Christopher Reeves, who acted as Superman, was indeed true in times of pandemic. Our frontliners are the ones associated with the term “hero” because they are all ordinary individuals who exert an extraordinary effort to help and carry-out our healthcare system. In order to honor them, we need to remember what they’ve done in our country. Here are some of the most notable hero frontliners:

 

  • Abdul Rauf Lumabao is a 20-year-old volunteer as quarantine pass checker from Cotabato City. He said that that was his way of helping the government that he fully supported. He also said that his main concern was his neighbor’s well-being because it reflects the overall health of the barangay.
  • Dr. Ludina Insigne, a 36-years-old Field Epidemiologist from DOH was the Philippines’ 1077th case of COVID-19. She served as a contract tracer way back in the early wave of COVID-10 and started having symptoms. She and her team were assigned to conduct contact tracing, field work, profiling of patients, specimen collection and transportation. Given that she was in the field, she was prone to be infected but her duty is what is more important.
  • Dr. Therese Anne Suñe, 33, works in the hospital. She was in-charge in the COVID-19 ICU of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. Like Dr. Insigne, she was also prone to infection because of the risk of being assigned to the ICU. But she was determined to continue her service to hold the fort at the frontlines.
  • James Remar Fajardo, 32, and a former nurse was an administrative officer of DOH’s Procurement Planning and Management Division. He was in-charge of securing the supply of medical-related equipment to continuously meet the DOH’s needs and requirements. He said that being in his work was much safer and easier compared to medical frontliners who are in the field. He said this as praise to our frontliners.
  • John Mark Duetes, 23, was a project development officer from DSWD’s National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau. At his youthful age, he was also a solely designated procurement officer of the said government department. He was in-charge to augment distribution of relief goods in the Philippines. He said that he was inspired to continue his service because not everyone is called to serve.

 

Young, old, private citizen, or public employee, there is no difference for one to be considered as hero frontliners. Each of us has the capability to be a hero in our own efforts to help our community to combat COVID-19.

 

Aside from the frontliners mentioned above, let us also remember and honor those frontliners who lose their lives in service. Every ordinary citizen is a frontliner, everyone can be a hero.