The country was hit by two catastrophes just as the year was starting, the eruption of Taal Volcano and a pandemic, one after the other. Some industries near the volcanic eruption have been deeply affected and just as they were starting to rise back from the ashes, a global crisis hits. 

Aldimir Balaswit, a hotel manager working in Tagaytay, has shown perseverance and resilience along with his staff when difficulties arose. Most establishments have closed temporarily during the lockdown yet their hotel remained partially operational to cater to their existing clientele who have checked-in prior to quarantine.

He supervises his staff at the hotel through a work from home set-up at his Suntrust Home in Cyberville, a house and lot subdivision in Cavite. While keeping himself busy at home by ensuring smooth operations in the hotel through direct feedback from his subordinates and online conference calls with corporate management, he shared that he's still thankful because he has been enjoying quality moments more with his wife, Caren, currently a team leader of a networking company who also works from home.

“I got to bond more with my wife. We do brisk walking and watching movies together. I really got quality time with her since we’re the only ones inside our home,” the 53-year-old beamed.

Because of the pandemic, he also realized many things in his life. One of them is to learn to adjust with the world’s changes and adapt to the new normal. As a frontliner himself whose job is basically interacting with different people, he knows that his world would drastically change.

 “I learned something new. We don’t know when this will end, so what we can do is to follow health standards to survive,” said Aldimir.

As a frontliner, he is immensely grateful for his subdivision’s measures to fight COVID19. He knows how difficult it is to be on the front line, battling against the pandemic for the safety of others.

“Smile at least once a day. You’ll never know how great the power of a smile is, it can change someone’s day. This pandemic is just temporary. It’ll soon pass, and we’ll be back to our normal again,” he advised his neighborhood’s frontliners whom he is greatly thankful for as they successfully maintain the proper safety measures within the community.

“We felt really safe and secured here, and that’s one thing I am very proud of,” he gleefully added.

Special thanks to:

Lilia Alcoba BSM- Psalms