Minors left to fend for themselves amid the COVID-19 pandemic

A 14-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl were left to take care of their younger siblings amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Where are their parents?

On “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” on Sunday, Marjun and Kathleen were forced to stand as parents to 5-year-old Johnvic and 1-year-old Jesna Rose as they were left by themselves at home.

At six in the morning, Marjun gets up to prepare food for his siblings.

“Ako na lang Papa at Mama nila. Ako na lang mag-aasikaso sa kanila (I’m their Papa and their Mama. I’m the only one taking care of them),” he said.

Kathleen feeds their younger siblings and bathes them, while Marjun prepares milk.

At such a young age, Marjun and Kathleen are forced to let go of their childhood and start carrying the responsibility for the family.

Absence of parents

It was through a phone call that Marjun found out his mother was dead.

“Si Papa na ang mag-aalaga sa amin. Wala nang Mama. Hindi madali. Mayroon pa akong kapatid na maliit (Mama’s gone. We only have Papa. It’s not easy. I have siblings who are still so young).”

It was their father, Junjie, who broke the news to Marjun. However, Junjie revealed that his youngest children don’t know what really happened to their mother, Hasmin.

“Tumawag pa nu’ng isang gabi na, ‘nasaan daw si Mama?’ Sinabihan ko lang din na, ‘nagtatrabaho’ (The two didn’t even know that their mother is dead. They even called the other night and asked, ‘where’s Mama?’ I just told them, ‘she’s working).”

Junjie himself was forced to stay at an isolation center in Minglanilla, Cebu, away from his children.

“Dahil galing ako sa ospital tapos marami daw positibo doon. Tapos, namatay pa ang aking asawa. Kaya pinag-quarantine ako ng 14 days para sa safety din ng aking mga anak daw (I came from the hospital where there were many positive cases of COVID-19. That’s where my wife died so they told me to isolate myself for 14 days for the safety of my children),” Junjie explained.

Hasmin passed away on May 11.

“Hindi ko pa alam ang result dahil ‘under investigation’ pa ang nakalagay sa papel (I don’t know if she tested positive or negative for COVID-19 because the words ‘under investigation’ were written on the paper),” the father said.

Junjie begged the hospital to release his wife’s body even just for three days so the family could mourn properly, but he was instructed to bury the remains immediately.

Now that Junjie is in isolation, he can only talk to his children through phone calls.

A long awaited day

Marjun wanted nothing more than for his father to come back home.

Little did the children know that Junjie was already on his way home.

Last Tuesday, Junjie was finally reunited with his children. He made sure to use the time to properly explain what happened with their mother.

When people learned of their situation, many of them sent donations to the family. The children even received psychological counselling.

As blessings continued to pour, the family also found the answer and the closure they’ve been waiting for.

Hasmin tested negative of COVID-19 and died due to hypokalemia or potassium deficiency.

Despite the happy reunion, the family feels the loss of a loved one.

Marjun shared: “Ma, promise ko babantayan ko ang aking mga kapatid (Ma, I promise I’ll take care of my siblings) … Ma, I love you.” — Kaela Malig/RC/LA, GMA News