“Dito lang kami sa aming bahay”: Kapangyarihan at Kalusugan sa mga Piling Aklat Pambatang Filipino tungkol sa Pandemyang COVID-19 (2020-2021) (“We will just stay at home”: Power Relations and Health System in Selected Filipino Children’s Books about COVID-19 Pandemic [2020-2021])

• Main Author: Sy, Jose Monfred C.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: ahente ng pagbabagong pangkalusugan (health change agent); aklat pambata (children’s book); COVID-19; komunikasyong pangkalusugan (health communication); pandemya (pandemic); Comparative Literature; South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/akda/vol4/iss1/2; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/akda/article/1067/viewcontent/1_Sy.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Sa gitna ng pandemyang COVID-19 na sumiklab noong Marso 2020, umusbong ang maraming aklat pambatang may layuning ituro sa mambabasa kung paano umiwas sa sakit at umangkop sa mga pagbabago sa pang-araw-araw na buhay buhat ng tinatawag na “new normal.” Malaki ang papel ng pagbabasa sa pag-unlad ng mga batang Pilipino na nawalan ng pagkakataong masosyalisa kasama ng kapwa bata sa mga espasyo tulad ng paaralan at palaruan. Layunin ng papel na ito na suriin kung paano inilalarawan ng mga aklat pambatang Filipino ang mga bata sa konteksto ng pandemya. Kung kinikilala ng lipunan ang pangangailangan na limitahan ang mobilidad ng mga bata, inaalam ng kasalukuyang pag-aaral kung paano sinisipat, pinaiigting, at/o tinatawaran ng mga akda ang kapangyarihan ng bata na unawain at alpasan ang mga banta, limitasyon, at pagbabago sa ilalim ng pandemya. Sumasalig ang papel na ito sa dalumat ng bata bilang “ahente ng pagbabago sa kalusugan” (“health change agent”) na may kakayahang matutunan ang mga paraan upang mapabuti ang kanilang kalusugan habang lumalaki. Kinikilatis ko ang mga ugnayang pangkapangyarihang nananalaytay sa pitong aklat pambatang tumatalakay sa pandemya na inilathala mula 2020 hanggang 2021. Tinatalunton ng papel ang ugnayan ng bata sa mga magulang o matatanda, mga eksperto, iba’t ibang institusyong lipunan, at mismong pandemya. Sa panunuring ito, matutukoy ang mga akdang may panaanalig sa kapangyarihan ng batang Pilipino na humarap sa sala-salabat na krisis. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in March 2020, numerous children's books emerged with the aim of teaching readers how to avoid illness and adapt to the changes in their daily lives under the so-called “new normal.” Reading plays a significant role in the development of Filipino children who have lost opportunities for socialization with peers in spaces like schools and playgrounds. The objective of this paper is to examine how Filipino children’s books depict children within the context of the pandemic. Given that society recognizes the need to restrict the mobility of children, the current study investigates how the selected texts scrutinize, amplify, or downplay the power of children to understand and overcome threats, limitations, and changes during the pandemic. This paper relies on the concept of the child as a “health change agent” who has the capacity to learn ways to improve their health as they grow up. It examines the power dynamics presented in seven children’s books published between 2020 and 2021 that discuss the pandemic. The paper explores the relationships between the child and their parents or caregivers, experts, society, and the pandemic itself. Through this analysis, it seeks to identify texts that have faith in the power of Filipino children to confront complex crises.