The Commission’s collection of narratives from the LGBQI+ community, “Krisis at Bahaghari: Stories of Stigma and Resilience of LGBQI+ Community” provide further accounts. One transwoman shared how the ECQ impacted income opportunities brought about by March-April graduation rites and Flores de Mayo “Ang mga makeup artist na nag puhunan ng mga bagong make up para sa nalalapit na graduation at Flores De Mayo ay hindi rin kumita. Ang mga fashion designer at gown rentals na malakas dapat sa buwan ng Mayo ay kinailangan din mag sara,at marami pang iba ang hindi nakapag trabaho tulad din ng mga taong hindi nabibilang sa sektor ng LGBTQ+” (Make up artists who invested in new make up for the graduation and Flores de Mayo season ended up not earning anything. Fashion designers and gown rentals expecting to earn during the month of May had to close shop, members of the community were unable to work just like everyone else). One transman on the other hand shared how he used to drive a tricycle for a living and when lockdown was declared, he was unable to work. He was grateful when ECQ lifted and when he was allowed to work, but his income of PhP150/day was not enough. He shared the difficulty of providing for elderly parents amidst the pandemic ‘Sampu kaming magkakapatid, karamihan sa kanila may mga asawa’t pamilya na rin. Mga senior citizen na rin ang mga magulang ko kaya’t nakasalalay din sila sakin. Dahil sa pandemya, hindi pa rin naman kami araw-araw na nakakapamasada. Kaya puro utang na lang ako sa mga kaibigan ko, pakapalan ng mukha para sa sikmurang kumakalam.’ (I have 9 siblings, most of them are already married with families of their own. My parents are already senior citizens and they rely on me for support. Because of the pandemic, we can’t go to work [drive tricycle] everyday. My debts from friends piled up but I had to swallow my pride just to have something to eat). It is clear that the COVID-19 crisis brought with it economic devastations felt in all levels of the economy and in all countries all over the world. It must however be stressed that this economic impact and devastation is more acute and felt among the most vulnerable and marginalized, especially women in the marginalized sector and members of the LGBQI+. Pre-existing inequalities are exacerbated with the economic devastation and the prolonged crisis into the new normal further deepen economic inequality and injustices. Multiple Burden of Women and Girls Before the COVID-19 outbreak women were already performing more than three-quarters of unpaid care work globally and that is likely to have increased. As emphasized in the Policy Brief of the UN Secretary General, the increased demand for care work during the pandemic is deepening already existing inequalities in the gender division of labor. Multiple burdens on women and girls increase with the closure of schools and with the overburdened health care systems. Due to traditional gender roles, women and girls are default caregivers for children and family members who are sick or elderly. Despite these, economic packages responding to the crisis fail to take into account women and girls’ unpaid work. These additional caregiving responsibilities make it harder to maintain paid employment, or worse, make it impossible for women with caring responsibilities to continue work in essential services. A study by OXFAM conducted during the COVID-19 crisis showed that more than half of women in 5 countries, including the Philippines, say they have had to do more household work because of the coronavirus pandemic.49 Same study reported that almost half or 43% of the women respondents said they feel "more anxious, depressed, isolated, overworked, or ill" from having to take on more unpaid household 49 Rappler. Over Half of Women in the Philippines Doing More Household work due to Pandemic. 20 June 2020. https://amp.rappler.com/nation/264356-over-half-of-women-philippines-doing-more-household-workcoronavirus-pandemic 10