‘Loob’ and ‘Labas’: Spatial Constructions of Safety and Risk Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines

• Main Authors: Lasco, Gideon, Tan, Michael L, Yu, Vincen Gregory
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2022
• Subjects: proxemics; risk conceptualization; COVID-19; pandemics; Philippines; health governance; Anthropology; Biological and Physical Anthropology; Epidemiology; Medicine and Health Sciences; Public Health; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/dev-stud-faculty-pubs/128; https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/dev-stud-faculty-pubs/article/1128/viewcontent/1_s2.0_S1353829222001903_main.pdf
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

This article argues that local constructions of risky and safe spaces, as articulated by the notions ‘loob’ (inside) and ‘labas’ (outside), informed popular and political responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, leading to an overemphasis on staying at home and, conversely, a general a...