UPD, DLSU students propel Lunas for COVID-19 patients, frontliners

by Amaranth Xena Soleil Saludar

Lunas was launched on July 12, 2020 as a short-term COVID-19 initiative led by Irish Cariaga, a 20-year old 3rd year BA Political Science student at University of the Philippines (UP) – Diliman, and Adelheid Laurio, a 20-year old 3rd year BS-MS Civil Engineering student at De La Salle University Manila.

According to Cariaga, Lunas, which means “cure, antidote or remedy,” was initiated to help mitigate the effects of the pandemic through collective efforts to “help pave the path to healing.”

Through Lunas, Cariaga and Laurio ought to address the problems of the country in this time of crisis, including the increasing number of COVID-19 positive cases, inaccessibility to COVID-19 testing, and lack of funds and equipment, such as personal protective equipment and testing kits.

With that, the people behind Lunas hoped to solve the problem by initiating online campaigns to gain support, collecting funds from sponsors and donors, and donating equipment and funds to testing centers and public hospitals.

“As a student of political science, I have studied structures and systems of governance and service delivery among different countries and I believe there are many things we can do to mitigate the problems that we have at present. Thus, I wanted to find like-minded people who believe in this advocacy and are willing to donate and spread awareness to this cause,” Cariaga stated.

With the difficulties the country is facing and the possibilities that she saw, Cariaga wanted to tell everyone the importance of helping COVID-19 patients and frontliners.

“We can all help pave the path to healing if we work as one to fight this battle against Covid-19. Our individual efforts are pertinent to unlocking solutions. Hence, we can collectively be the cure (Lunas) that our country needs,” encouraged Cariaga.

Cariaga said that Lunas is mainly an initiative for COVID-19 but is planned to be transitioned to a long-term movement focusing on Philippine healthcare.

Also, Lunas recently partnered with UP Kustura Los Baños to spread their advocacy.

*Interested donors and sponsors may reach Lunas through their Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts for more details. They may also reach out to the organization through this contact number: 09266170520.