For me, being a parent is the best job in the world. Nothing compares.  But it doesn’t mean it’s not challenging.

With a worldwide pandemic still spreading uncertainty and fear, our role as parents and providers for our families has become tougher.

The first of May serves as a stark reminder for working parents that work in a pandemic-stricken world has become strenuous in explicit and subtle ways.

While parents already had huge responsibilities pre-pandemic, the challenges of adjusting to new ways of living and working, both for themselves and for their families, make all the difference, especially for those who are still required to work on-site. Making a living now involves facing immense health risks just to be able to provide for their dependents.

The pandemic has turned parents into all-around homemakers and multitaskers. But despite these challenges, various kinds of help have also become available for them.

Many organizations have offered financial assistance and reprieve, among plenty other solutions that are crucial in helping working parents survive and develop in their careers during these difficult times.

When the pandemic first hit the country last year, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assured Filipino workers of government financial assistance. In March of last year, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases also released a list of target beneficiaries who could avail between P5,000 to P8,000 worth of aid twice. Eligible beneficiaries included pregnant and lactating women as well as solo parents.

For the private sector, companies implemented flexible work arrangements to enable employees to work from the safety of their homes, and allow working parents to have extra time to attend to the needs of their families.  

Moving forward  

There is, however, the sad reality of all the lives and livelihood opportunities we’ve lost in the past year. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) in its article titled “COVID-19 labour market impact in the Philippines,” 25 percent of total employment in the country — roughly 10.9 million workers — are likely to be disrupted by the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, either through a decrease in their wages and working hours, or unemployment.

But to provide working parents some respite in these tough times, various organizations are offering them help. Last year, global humanitarian organization World Vision launched its unconditional cash transfer project to aid at least 15,000 families.

For our part in BPI Foundation, we continue to provide livelihood opportunities to the unemployed and underemployed through our BPI Technical-Vocational (Tech-Voc) program.

BPI Tech-Voc is a capacity-building intervention which seeks to empower the marginalized and disadvantaged sectors of society, including single parents, by providing training on various technical-vocational skills and entrepreneurial know-how. Through training courses on organic farming, web design, and cookery, among others, we aim to provide livelihood opportunities that can come in the form of employment, self-employment, or entrepreneurship.

For working parents, parenting is a full-time job, too. Their families keep them going. But they need support. Together, let’s provide them the opportunity and help them find solutions to get back up, to recharge, and regain that spark they need to provide a good future for their families.

To all the working parents, thank you and we salute you for all that you do.