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The Queen in Shining Armor

Aug 1, 2020
4 min read

by Otoha Ozawa

YOUNG AND INDEPENDENT. Commemoration of the 122nd Philippine Independence Day in Pagadian City, Zamboanga Del Sur by the City Counselor Sam Tyra Co. ©Co and Santos

Once upon a time, there stood a fantastic kingdom that inhabited magic and wishes, with ivory walls towering the surface and hues of pink littering the crevices of the castle. The lands were vast and wide, waiting to be traveled, and the people were jolly and high spirited, keeping the streets bustling with life. Days were sunny, nights were vibrant, and all was well in the kingdom that reigned, but of course, no kingdom was complete without a leader to serve and guide their citizens. Perched on the highest floor of the castle to oversee her people and their needs, building up the trust and magic the kingdom was founded on, stood the young queen with a servant leader’s heart and dreams of a whimsical world. This queen was none other than Pagadian City’s City Councilor, Sam Tyra Co.

Tyra Co is the newly elected City Councilor of Pagadian City with larger than life dreams of serving her people. With her righteous cause, she wishes to make a better world for the people she serves, and as of now, is doing what she can, starting with her Pagadian City.

For Co, making a change looked a lot like long nights, numerous meetings, and multiple coffee cups; her ivory tower looming over her in the form of stacks of pristine paperwork. It was all worth it though, because a better life for her city was slowly coming into fruition. Things were sailing smoothly, that is, until the turbulent terrors of COVID-19 hit the world like an ever-growing storm. And just like that of a ferocious fire breathing dragon, the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the world, the Philippines, and Co’s very own Pagadian. As people started to panic, and fear was instilled in the hearts of the masses, the whole world was starting to shut down as well. With stores and schools being permanently closed down, work being shifted to be done at home, and people being unable to leave their houses, a new normal was being bestowed upon us in the blink of an eye. Quarantine had taken effect to stop the spread of the virus, and the flames in people’s hearts were starting to be smothered by the fist of the pandemic.

Seeing the dejected spirits of people all around the world, as well as in her very own city, motivated Co into working harder to put even the slightest bit of ease into her people’s minds. A compelling urgency surged into Co and Pagadian City’s Local Government Units, prompting them to help their people in these trying times and to bring relief amidst this pandemic. One of the projects initiated by Co to bring relief to the citizens of Pagadian was the Bayanihan Desk, which is a project that allows people to give donations or assistance to those who are not fortunate enough to have much funds or goods in these trying times. Other Local Government Units in the country as well have taken action towards helping the citizens get back on their feet from the devastating blows of this virus.

“The city helped enroll the displaced workers in the DOLE program. The city distributed 2 waves of food packs to all 54 barangays, assisted in the distribution of SAP, among all others. Even with the aid of the national government from all the different agencies, we won’t be able to give relief to everyone, so the city established the Bayanihan desk to encourage everyone that in the midst of this crisis, we should keep our bayanihan spirit alive and share our blessings if we have more than we need. So, people who were not able to receive their assistance shall be accommodated by the bayanihan desk,” Co details.

The efforts of Co and Pagadian’s Local Government Units have not been in vain, because slowly but surely, Pagadian’s citizens are finding hope once more and working together in getting through this trying pandemic. Some homes even opt to place a PASS sign on their gates to “#Passtheblessings” onto people who need the resources more. Even with Pagadian City’s shift to the Modified General Community Quarantine, the Local Government Unit of Pagadian is working even harder to give assistance to the Locally Stranded Individuals and the Returning Overseas Filipinos, creating COVID teams to manage the monitoring of their arrivals and departures, contact tracing, and rapid testing, so that the safety of the citizens of Pagadian is ensured.

“All actions done by the LGU were to ensure the safety of all Pagadianons. These helped them survive, gave them opportunities to start again, and helped them adapt to our new normal. COVID-19 has truly changed a lot in our system and this is yet the greatest challenge I’ve faced as a public servant. Rules have changed, priorities have shifted, and we all just have to adapt to the new normal,” Co states.

The future of our world is still very uncertain, but in spite of this, we must hold on to hope. As our Local Government Officials lend us their helping hand, let us focus on that glimmering ray of hope showering and waiting for us like a vivid rainbow after a storm. Slowly but surely, peace will reign over our world again, just like the dawn, after the queen and her troops slay the fire breathing dragon wreaking havoc on all the lands.