In order to address the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the San Juan KALINGAP (Kaagapay, Lingkod at Gabay sa Pandemya) was established specifically to provide San Juaneño COVID-19 patients with free medical treatment in public hospitals as well as provide isolation and quarantine facilities. Aside from this, the program also aims to provide temporary jobs and livelihood to those displaced by the pandemic.

In order to achieve the program’s objectives, San Juan City established its own quarantine facilities, namely, Bahay Kalinga and San Juan City National High School Annex Basketball Court Quarantine Facility. An additional ward for COVID-19 patients, called Charlie Ward, was constructed at the San Juan Medical Center, and container vans were turned into quarantine facilities. These facilities were able to accommodate a total of 2,877 COVID-19 patients as of June 2021 and have significantly stopped further transmission of the virus.

The local government also launched the TUPAD or Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers, a temporary “cash for work” project for the indigents and San Juaneños who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. The temporary shelter and the financial assistance given to medical frontliners were a great moral booster from the local government. In coordination with various NGOs and private companies, the city government also provided bicycles to indigent San Juaneños and medical frontliners who had difficulties taking public transportation due to the ECQs and lockdowns. This helped alleviate the concerns of the medical frontliners who were having a hard time going to and from their workplace.

The program also prioritized online classes under the new normal. A total of 1,000 laptops, 12,500 tablets and 1,000 pocket wifi were provided to all public school students, from Kinder to Senior High School, living in San Juan City. In partnership with Converge, a Fiber Optic Intranet and Learning Management System was also installed in over 6,000 households of all the public school students studying and residing in San Juan City.

The city provided a total package of online learning tools and materials for free for every public school student and is now considered one of the pioneering LGUs to shoulder and provide the necessary resources needed to adapt to the new norm of learning. At least over 12,000 public school students who were enrolled during the school year were able to benefit from the digital learning system, without the hassle of getting printed modules from their schools.

A primary innovation implemented by the program is the establishment of the Kalinga Kontra Korona (KKK) which is a well-ventilated school building turned into a quarantine quarters with the comforts of home, complete with amenities like bathrooms, beds and free wifi. Another innovation in San Juan City were the container vans turned into make- shift quarantine facilities composed of several fully-airconditioned single rooms with their own CR. These provided comfortable accommodation to COVID-19 patients.

To make sure that the COVID-19 Programs are sustained until the pandemic ends, several city ordinances and resolutions were passed for the budget allocation to fully implement these programs. Programs which are initially funded by the national government’s “Bayanihan, We Heal as One Act” Program were sufficiently sustained through the city’s funds. The laptops and other gadgets given to the students can still be used in the coming years for as long as face-to-face classes are still not feasible and serve as learning resources when classes finally resume.