Many people in rural areas of the Philippines are scratching out a living after a year of coronavirus lockdowns.
Baby Jane Velicaria, 23, joined an exodus from Manila and other cities when the government imposed the first of its COVID-19 lockdowns and quarantines in March 2020.
She works today at her father’s tobacco farm in Balungao, a municipality in northern Pangasinan province. She used to work at a bag factory in the big city.
“I lost my job in the factory because of the lockdown,” Velicaria told BenarNews. “I went back here in March last year, and I haven’t had a job since.”