I volunteered to conduct a city-wide research on the socio-economic impacts of COVID 19 to the city of Tagbilaran. My team at Step
Up Consulting just felt that if we want to chart a better future post-pandemic,
we need to base our plans, projects, and even our day-to-day decisions on data.
And we have to be part of or contribute to the solution however way we can. I have been working on data for development
for six years now and I strongly advocate for evidenced-based policy or
programming, especially in a context where some of our leaders base their
decisions on what they hear from their friends or what they see on social
media.One of the things we did, as part of the multi-methods
research, was to engage in short but deep conversations with tricycle drivers –
one of those severely affected by the lockdown.For most of the people in the city, we move around using tricycles and
the tricycle drivers we interact with on a daily basis have been the refuge of
several commuters, rain or …
The COVID 19 pandemic has significantly changed the way we
live.For more than two months now, most
of us, by force of governmental regulation, have stayed at home, avoided public
and even social gatherings, set aside various recreation activities, and abstained
from going to religious services. These new patterns of behaviour, regardless of the involuntariness of its nature,
have altered not only how we think and do things; they also significantly
altered the way we produce and consume things.Businesses are severely affected by this pandemic.Mall sales had gone down, not only because
they were closed for a while, but also because many people can no longer go
there, including children and the elderly, (and those without quarantine passes)
even when lockdown rules were relaxed. When religious celebrations were halted,
sales for flowers and candles went low.When borders were locked, revenues of car rental companies, tour guides, and tourism-related establishments plummeted to nothing.Bu…
