Expériences of a New Breed of Heroes amidst Covid-19 Pandemic: Plights and Aspirations

Abstract

Due to their exposure to public areas, particularly at border checkpoints, police officers were not free from the Covid-19 risk. Aside from the health hazards, these frontliners were frequently targets of mistreatment from border violators. The study aimed to know the lived experiences of police officers enforcing standard health protocol at the border checkpoints of Maasin City, Southern Leyte. Specifically, the research sought the following problems: the experiences of the informants in enforcing standard health protocols, the informants coping with the problems encountered in enforcing standard health protocols, and the aspirations of informants to improve the implementation of standard health protocols. This research was carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic, and data was collected through individual depth interviews and focused group discussions. It was performed to learn more about police officers' lived experiences with the pandemic, including how they adjusted to the sudden change and managed challenges in the work environment, health risks from Covid-19 exposure, and the possibility of the danger posed by many challenges enforcing standard health protocols. The research tried to show how these experiences are handled and how their ramifications could help to improve future crisis preparedness and policing. Furthermore, seven (7) emergent themes were formulated in this study. From the positive experiences, the theme of The Fulfillment of Heroes emerged. While from the experiences of the informants, in the negative experiences, two (2) themes have been formulated: Being in the Frontline and In the State of Battle. The two (2) developed themes for how the informants cope with their experiences are Self-suffieciency in the State of Adversity and Overcoming Adversity in Unity. The final two themes, Unity and Cooperation, an Excellent Armor, and The Desire Behind the Motivation, are drawn from the aspirations of the informants. The police officers performed their duties with the goal of involving the community in their work and coping with and adapting to sudden changes as a whole. They achieved this by considering their past experiences in order to become better public servants and be ready for upcoming crises.