Allen stresses importance of front-liners’ safety, needs

Allen (fourth from left) with wife Crystle and kids

Actor Allen Dizon, who has already participated in a number of outreach activities in his home province Pampanga, has emphasized the importance of “prioritizing the needs and safety” of Filipino front-liners.

“Our lives depend on them. Imagine if they all get sick? Who will take care of us? These days, they’re our heroes,” he told Inquirer Entertainment. Other than the doctors and health workers, Allen said we should also be concerned with the welfare of food servers, sanitation personnel and delivery drivers. “Can you imagine life in quarantine without their services?”

He added: “I believe that no Filipino will ever go hungry. If you ask for help—especially for food and water—from your neighbors, these will be given to you. Magagawan ng paraan ’yan! But it’s different with our front-liners. We have to provide for their needs, because it’s like they’re fighting the war for us.”

Allen said that if one cannot physically go out to help front-liners—because of health reasons, for example—he or she may record a video or post a greeting on social media that will help boost the morale of our modern-day heroes. “I did that recently; and I think it doesn’t just inspire the front-liners, it also makes you feel better about yourself,” he pointed out. “It’s also OK to simply stay at home, especially if you have children and elderlies with you whom you also need to protect.”

Allen said he welcomed being stuck at home because it gave him the opportunity to bond with his wife Crystle and their children. In Pampanga, the Dizons live in a gated community, with very few neighbors, and are lucky to still be able to roam around because the area remains free of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Allen Dizon

“We weren’t too affected by the lockdown because the kids were already in their summer break when the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) was first implemented,” Allen said. “We usually just stay at home. In our subdivision, I had a tennis court built, and we would go there to work out in the afternoon. I would teach them how to play tennis.”

The government first ordered a Metro Manila-wide ECQ on March 15. It had been extended two weeks later to include the entire Luzon region. Meanwhile, beginning May 16, restrictions were loosened in Pampanga, which is now under general community quarantine (GCQ).

Prior to the lockdown, Allen still had to tape for an episode of the weekly courtroom drama TV series, “Ipaglaban Mo.” Because of the pandemic, he also had to stop working on an action-adventure series that also features former Sen. Bong Revilla. Also, he was supposed to attend story pitching for film projects, but they were all postponed.

Life these days is less costly, said Allen, because he doesn’t need to travel from Pampanga, like what he would always does when he has to work in Manila. “Also, there are no invitations to attend birthdays, fiestas and other parties. I also like staying at home because the kids are studying how to cook,” said the proud dad of Nella, Felixia, Lucas and Allene.

“We consider ourselves lucky because we don’t depend on the government for support. There are those who would wait for donations and relief goods from their LGUs (local government units). Those are the people whose lives really got affected by the pandemic and the resulting lockdown,” he said.