Economic trail: uncovering the unheard battle of the economically marginalized individuals amid pandemic in barangay Nueva Fuerza, Tagum City

Abstract

In accordance to the needs of the individuals to survive amidst the pandemic in terms of economic power and their coping mechanisms, one of the areas of concern was about the situations of those economically marginalized individuals. This study is a phenomenological approach where it tries to reveal the economical situations of the individuals living below the social strata, their coping mechanisms, the hardship they had faced and also their perceptions. An interview was conducted at Barangay Nueva Fuerza Tagum City, Davao del Norte. The participants were randomly selected with accordance to the following requirements set by the researchers. Results shows that people with less economic power tends to have the most difficult situations in surviving economically during lockdowns and pandemic. The results were clarified into nine (9) major themes, Faced Hardships During Lockdown, Fear of Being Infected by the Virus, Not Being Able to go Out, Consider Farming as Strategy for Income, Utilize The Savings, Consider Different Strategies to Earn, Become Resilient and Positive, Prayed for Providence, and lastly Hope for a Continuation of Government Support, this study aims to promote awareness under different situations that individuals faced, most specially to those economically marginalized individuals.