26 Aban, Sapiandante, Amata-Justo, and Roldan ASAMBA supplemented this gatekeeping with their own social protection measures. Other community leaders quickly worked to release a portion of their organization’s savings for the procurement of immediate food needs (especially rice), along with the distribution of these food packs to all their members. It was actually ASAMBA which initiated the first and second waves of relief operations within their community from their own funds, not the local government. Experience had taught them that government relief goods take time to reach them, while their members were already starving by the day. Meanwhile, having partnerships with social movements and civil society groups, ASAMBA was also able to secure food packs from these allies during the earlier days of the ECQ. Furthermore, donations from friends and support groups continue to pour in up to the present. This kind of collective leadership through the visibility of ASAMBA officers’ working as frontliners to enforce basic COVID-19 preventive measures (such as physical distancing, staying at home, and wearing of face masks) made it possible and easier for all the residents to comply with public health protocols. The key element in their response was not imposing draconian and punitive-based measures to get people to comply with the mandated restrictions. When they set their own rules and regulations to supplement the quarantine policy of the government, they enable residents to understand the situation and cooperate. In fact, because of ASAMBA’s self-regulation, there was lesser need for the barangay council to monitor and enforce compliance of the protocols within their community. ASAMBA President Eddie said that they really exerted extra efforts to make all the households understand the situation and the policies.1 Mina Amata-Justo, one of the frontliners at the gates, explained that people were reprimanded when they tend to forget to follow the protocols. There are times when police officers enter their premises to check any violators of the law related to Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.2 ASAMBA’s tireless reminders of the quarantine protocols has, so far, resulted in zero cases of arrests for violating the law. Significance of ASAMBA’s history in COVID-19 response ASAMBA’s methodical planning and estate management, the tactical implementation of plans, and the capacity to organize the neighborhood come as no surprise. The ASAMBA members’ ability to quickly mobilize among themselves and plan practical 1 “Households” here refer to the ASAMBA homeowners or members, their extended families or the sharers, and space renters who are mostly temporary residents coming from different provinces and who have opted to stay in Metro Manila for their jobs. 2 A new law, the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Republic Act No. 11469), was recently enacted in the Philippines as a response to the COVID-19 health crisis.