By Froilan Gallardo
Special Correspondent
LOCAL musician Jun Gregorio eagerly awaited the lifting of the stricter quarantine measure on the city but when the announcement came late Thursday, he was stunned.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases decided to extend the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine for Cagayan de Oro for another 15 days from July 16 to July 31.
This is the third extension of the strictest quarantine protocol in Cagayan de Oro, this year.
President Rodrigo Duterte has extended the MECQ twice, first on June 15 and the second on June 30.
The IATF earlier implemented the second strict quarantine protocol in Cagayan de Oro starting last May after a runaway of Covid-19 cases threatened the city’s hospital system.
Gregorio said he thought that the IATF would ease the quarantine following a decrease of Covid-19 cases noted in the last two weeks of July.
“This will be another nail for local musicians,” Gregorio said of the recent order extending MECQ to July 31.
Gregorio said local musicians have been suffering economically since last year.
He said many restaurants that used to hire musicians have decided they can no longer afford them.
“Local restaurants are operating at only 50 percent capacity and have only limited time since the curfew starts at 9 pm,” Gregorio said.
He said musicians like him no longer have gigs where they can earn.
The National Economic Development Authority in Region 10 has estimated the hotel of accommodation and food services lost P166 million during the period from June 1 to June 30.
In its “Northern Mindanao Socioeconomic Outlook, Neda-10 said some 320 business firms and hotels in Cagayan de Oro have reduced or retrenched their employees.
Councilor George Goking, who chairs the Cagayan de Oro City Council trade and commerce committee, said the city has been a high price to bring down the Covid-19 outbreak into a plateau.
Goking said they estimated that the city economy lost P15 billion from June 1 to July 15.
Musicians like Gregorio are among those who have continuously suffered the brunt since last year.
It can be recalled that one of the popular folksingers in the city, George Bagsic, died of cardiac arrest on March 20, last year.
On March 16 that year, he had received a memo for the performers at a resto-bar he was playing at.
“Please be advised that our acoustic (performances) will be suspended…starting tomorrow March 17, 2020. Wait for further notice (when) to resume,” the memo reads.
Bagsic was anxious about where to get money for the next meal of his family, his blood pressured soared, and was rushed to the hospital where he died three days later.
(Read related story: https://mindanaogoldstardaily.com/musicians-resort-to-busking-to-earn/)
After the death of Bagsic, last year, local musicians ― full band, acoustic, trio, duet, solo musicians, and sessionists ― banded themselves together and formed the Cagayan de Oro Musicians Guild.
In an interview today, Jena Morales, one of the core members of the guild said the membership of the guild grew substantially this year.
“There were around 120 musicians displaced last year, that number includes our senior (citizens) na. Right now, we have 147 members already,” said Morales.
Since then, it has launched several alternative venues for its members ― like holding a bazaar where food products of local musicians were sold, including used clothing, more popularly known as “ukay-ukay.” The guild also held busking, live and online. At one time, during the fiesta celebrations of the city last year, the guild held an online concert where they were able to raise money to give to its members.
The guild has since tapped the city government for alternative livelihood and other modules of training.
Morales said she hopes more displaced musicians will apply for membership with the guild this year so they could face the crisis collectively. (With reports from Cong B. Corrales)
