The whole world has undoubtedly suffered from this pandemic and until now, the changes are still widely felt. Since the announcement of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), most of the country’s business centers were forced to stop its operations and their workforces were greatly hit by this economic blow.
The entertainment industry is one of the most affected businesses since the lockdown took effect. This includes everyone from the artists to the people behind the camera—the writers, technical crew, camera men, and others. They usually get paid per project they work on, and with the lockdown refraining them from doing TV shoots, they also get no talent fee.
One of them is Wilson Araya, an established and old-hand writer at a known TV station. He is one of the creative minds behind Pepito Manaloto, the multi-awarded comedy show starring Michael V and The Boobay & Tekla Show. Since their taping operations halted following the lockdown, he has devoted all his time to his wife and two kids at their Suntrust condominium unit in Manila.
“We are really home buddies. We love watching Netflix and we even have our own areas at the house. My wife and I have work stations while the kids have their play area,” the 47-year-old writer enthused.
Wilson has used his time during the lockdown to improve his writing skills, learn new strategies, and enhance his talent. Despite the pandemic, he ensured productivity through continuous practice because he doesn’t want to be left behind in his field especially with today’s new challenges, as new writers emerge everyday.
“We must adapt to the changes of today. We should continue to think of new things that could suit the new normal. Almost everyday, our team meets online to brainstorm on new measures that we can do to cope with the difficulties,” shared Wilson.
Their TV shootings and projects may have stopped during the lockdown but that didn’t stop him from searching for ways to protect his family. When the regulations of the community quarantine have lightened, he established his own convenience store along Aurora Boulevard, which now helps them in their daily necessities.
He also shows admiration for his condominium community’s care and compassion for the residents and frontliners. “A lot of frontliners reside here, so the property management assigned a separate elevator exclusive only for their use,” said Wilson, awed and thankful to the condominium’s admin for their measures and strict implementation of safety precautions to help prevent COVID19.
“Good job. Thank you for taking care of us. We feel very safe and at home here,” he continued, applauding the community’s property management and frontliners.
