WEBVTT #Elemental Media Engine(TM) 2.17.0.0 00:00:01.668 --> 00:00:03.703 ANNA COREN: With her youngest just three years old, 00:00:03.803 --> 00:00:09.242 Mona Liza Vito has nine children and no way to feed them. 00:00:09.342 --> 00:00:11.077 Since the pandemic hit the Philippines, 00:00:11.177 --> 00:00:14.114 repeated lockdowns have left millions, like Mona Liza, 00:00:14.214 --> 00:00:17.484 unable to work or to eat. 00:00:17.584 --> 00:00:19.085 MONA LIZA VITO: [non-english speech] 00:00:19.185 --> 00:00:21.121 INTERPRETER: We don't have anything for my children's 00:00:21.221 --> 00:00:23.923 food, for daily expenses. 00:00:24.024 --> 00:00:26.092 MONA LIZA VITO: [non-english speech] 00:00:26.192 --> 00:00:29.262 INTERPRETER: Sometimes at night, we don't have anything to eat. 00:00:29.362 --> 00:00:31.564 We can only wait for the next day. 00:00:31.664 --> 00:00:33.600 ANNA COREN: Her husband used to work in construction, 00:00:33.700 --> 00:00:37.170 and Mona Liza used to peel sacks of garlic to get by, 00:00:37.270 --> 00:00:39.639 but even that work has dried up. 00:00:39.739 --> 00:00:42.008 Funding internet access for online learning 00:00:42.108 --> 00:00:46.413 has also added another expense and a hard choice. 00:00:46.513 --> 00:00:47.614 MONA LIZA VITO: [non-english speech] 00:00:47.714 --> 00:00:49.282 INTERPRETER: If we can't put in the money, 00:00:49.382 --> 00:00:51.084 they can't go to class. 00:00:51.184 --> 00:00:52.385 MONA LIZA VITO: [non-english speech] 00:00:52.485 --> 00:00:53.887 INTERPRETER: I would rather spend that money. 00:00:53.987 --> 00:00:56.256 So the children can have breakfast. 00:00:56.356 --> 00:00:59.426 ANNA COREN: The family lives in Baseco, one of Manila's poorest 00:00:59.526 --> 00:01:01.928 neighborhoods, which houses nearly 60,000 00:01:02.028 --> 00:01:05.165 people living cheek by jowl. 00:01:05.265 --> 00:01:07.500 And Mona Liza, like many of her neighbors, 00:01:07.600 --> 00:01:10.370 now rely on community kitchens. 00:01:10.470 --> 00:01:13.840 Volunteers prepare cabbage, pumpkin, and rice at dawn-- 00:01:13.940 --> 00:01:16.543 food donated by farmers, fishermen, and anyone 00:01:16.643 --> 00:01:20.447 who can afford it to give out to those who need it most. 00:01:20.547 --> 00:01:21.848 MONA LIZA VITO: [non-english speech] 00:01:21.948 --> 00:01:23.083 INTERPRETER: I am grateful. 00:01:23.183 --> 00:01:25.485 Our rice and vegetables are free. 00:01:25.585 --> 00:01:27.253 My children are no longer hungry. 00:01:27.353 --> 00:01:29.689 - [non-english speech] 00:01:29.789 --> 00:01:33.093 ANNA COREN: And there is visible desperation from the recipients 00:01:33.193 --> 00:01:36.963 as there's never enough to go around. 00:01:37.063 --> 00:01:38.865 Hundreds of these kitchens have popped up 00:01:38.965 --> 00:01:41.101 to address the growing hunger crisis 00:01:41.201 --> 00:01:44.471 in this impoverished nation of 100 million people 00:01:44.571 --> 00:01:48.108 and to fill in the huge gaps left by the government. 00:01:48.208 --> 00:01:50.410 Poor households did receive some cash 00:01:50.510 --> 00:01:52.879 handouts and food supplies, but not 00:01:52.979 --> 00:01:54.881 nearly enough to survive on. 00:01:54.981 --> 00:01:57.117 NADJA DE VERA: [non-english speech] 00:01:57.217 --> 00:01:58.651 INTERPRETER: We have no choice but to organize 00:01:58.751 --> 00:02:00.053 something like this. 00:02:00.086 --> 00:02:02.155 I hope the government will learn that this is a call to action 00:02:02.255 --> 00:02:04.624 to them, and we hope that the right amount of resources 00:02:04.724 --> 00:02:07.727 will finally reach those who really need it. 00:02:07.827 --> 00:02:09.329 ANNA COREN: As the hunger crisis bites, 00:02:09.429 --> 00:02:13.800 officials are looking to COVID-19 vaccines as a way out. 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:16.736 But with rollout delays and huge vaccine hesitancy, 00:02:16.836 --> 00:02:18.838 they face an uphill battle. 00:02:18.938 --> 00:02:22.542 A survey in March showed only 6% of Filipinos 00:02:22.642 --> 00:02:24.744 would be willing to get vaccinated. 00:02:24.844 --> 00:02:29.516 More than 60% said they would refuse one. 00:02:29.616 --> 00:02:32.886 Retired seamstress Letty Zambrona is one of them, 00:02:32.986 --> 00:02:34.854 despite being in a vulnerable age group 00:02:34.954 --> 00:02:37.891 and suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure. 00:02:37.991 --> 00:02:39.192 LETTY ZAMBRONA: [non-english speech] 00:02:39.292 --> 00:02:40.894 INTERPRETER: It is really because of the side effects 00:02:40.994 --> 00:02:42.729 that I don't want to get vaccinated. 00:02:42.829 --> 00:02:44.564 LETTY ZAMBRONA: [non-english speech] 00:02:44.664 --> 00:02:46.799 INTERPRETER: Because I keep hearing this news on TV, 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:50.136 like some have blood clots in their brains. 00:02:50.236 --> 00:02:51.604 ANNA COREN: President Duterte, himself, 00:02:51.704 --> 00:02:54.307 received the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine 00:02:54.407 --> 00:02:57.310 before halting its rollout, after he was criticized 00:02:57.410 --> 00:03:00.580 for taking a vaccine that hadn't been approved by the country's 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:04.384 National Drug regulator. 00:03:04.484 --> 00:03:07.120 Back in Baseco, Mona Liza returns home 00:03:07.220 --> 00:03:11.124 after receiving her donation, a small amount of food she needs 00:03:11.224 --> 00:03:13.826 to stretch a very long way. 00:03:13.927 --> 00:03:16.596 For many of these families, the fear of coronavirus 00:03:16.696 --> 00:03:19.999 will never compare to the threat of hunger. 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:23.736 Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.