Going Down South

On January 30th, the first case of Corona Virus or Covid-19 was reported, making the people of the Philippines in a panic state. But on that same day, a young man named Sano Sadako went on a campaign to become the chairman of the Youth Council or mostly known in the country as Sangguniang Kabataan.

A week before the 9 day Election Campaign began in roughly 42,000 villages, Sano's Father, Miyuki Sadako convinces his older son to become a member of the SK Council.

"Sano. I have a request to you. Join the campaign to become the SK Council chairman."

"SK Council chairman?"

Sano's Father did not give him a concrete reason why he's requesting his son to run for the SK position. But even so, Sano honors Miyuki's request.

"It's not like I got better things to do. All right, I'll run for the SK position, Father."

Come January 30th, together with his 9 friends who agreed to join him even without Sano asking, the 10 young men and women participated in the 9 day campaign.

Fast forward to February 7th, the SK Elections have ended, the votes from the youth of Barangay Silangan San Mateo Rizal have been tallied. And the result was a sweeping victory for Sano and his friends. Together, they are now the new Sangguniang Kabataan of Brgy. San Mateo.

Come present, March 6th. After finishing Junior High, the torches of the former SK council have been officially passed on to Sano and the others and their first day in their position starts today. And then...

...

"Huh?" Sano walked down the stairs. "Where's Father?"

Sano pulled out one of the vacant chairs out and sat in front of the table where his breakfast's waiting on a plate. A steaming hot, freshly cooked fried rice with scrambled egg. A typical breakfast meal in the Philippines.

"Ah, Miyuki went to work."

The soft and gentle female voice that answered Sano's question came from her Mother who was sitting alongside Chitanda in a sofa a few meters away from the dining table where Sano is currently eating. Her name is Marilyn Sadako.

"Work? Doesn't he know that his job is in Metro Manila?! That's where the Covid-19 patients are appearing one after the other." Sano responded in an exasperated voice.

The mainland or Metro Manila is the epicenter of the Corona Virus disease in the Philippines. Since the day that the first patient of the virus had been confirmed, the situation of the mainland has been gradually getting worse.

It started from the January 31st. Where the husband of the patient zero was later confirmed to be a Covid-19 positive as well. However on that same day, the husband of patient hero had lost his life. From there, terrible news have sprung out from the media left and right.

2 persons of interests that was suspected to have been a close contact to the patient zero and her husband have been confirmed positive of the virus. The day after, 2 others appeared to be carrying the disease, then the next. Each day, there are atleast 1 that would appear to be carriers of Covid-19. And every week, there are less than 2 people that would lose their lives, mainly those who had a weak heart or have a pneumonia.

On the second half of February, more and more people are being ruled out to be Covid-19 carriers and more people are losing their lives every 3 days.

"The number of deaths in Metro Manila already reached three digits while the number of Corona Virus patients bloated into more than a thousand in a span of a month." Sano told his Mother. "The increasing number of carriers means the increasing chances of getting the virus transmitted to everyone in the mainland. It's almost surprising that the Philippine administration haven't put Metro Manila in a lock down at this point. That said, don't you think Father is being a little more confident about himself, Mother?"

Sano after his speech proceeds to munch on his breakfast. And then his Mother replied.

"I know you cared a lot about your Father. And so am I." Marilyn told his son. "But it's not about being too confident. It's about being our Padre de Pamilya."

"Eh..."

So it's a Father's instinct, huh? That's what Sano thought.

The two averted their gaze from each other as Sano continues to feast on his meal. Until a news flash report notice echoes through Sano's ears.

[News Flash Report!]

"...!"

Sano quickly turns his black slanted eyes to the television right beside his Mother's head. Sano immediately asked Marilyn to increase the volume up, enough for him to hear clearly to where he was sitting.

The female news reporter begins to speak behind the television screen.

[The battle to suppress the deadly virus known as Covid-19 or Novel Corona Virus 2019 continues up to this day. But as time passes, the situation in Metro Manila proved to be overwhelming for the DOH to handle alone. And so, the Philippine Administration held a press conference to address the situation and their plans to stop the virus from spreading further along with DOH. Here's the recorded footage of the said Press Conference.]

After an articulate speech from the news reporter, the television switched to a pre-recorded video feed of the Press Con.

"The President." Marilyn spoke. Meanwhile, Sano who finished eating approached his little sister, Chitanda, and unplugged the earphones from her ears.

"Wai- what are you doing?!"

"Shut up and listen to the TV."

Though infuriated by what his older brother did, Chitanda followed what Sano told her and looked at the TV screen.

The camera closes up as the President of the Republic of the Philippines begins his speech.