Filipino toddler mimes a hug to her policeman father during coronavirus pandemic

This is the heartbreaking moment a Filipino girl was reunited with her father, but they had to mime a hug to each other as the father had been manning coronavirus checkpoints.

Police officer Raphael Palacios had been working in a different city but went back to his hometown in Negros, the Philippines on April 22, to see three-year-old Gabriel.

In the video, his excited daughter could only look from afar because it is not yet safe for them to hug immediately as Raphael had been in close contact with thousands of people who are crossing the checkpoints.

Instead, the pair of them mimed hugging and wrapped their arms round their own backs.

The soldier's wife, Gab, a doctor, said that their daughter and her older sister had always been understanding of their work.

She said: "They know what to do every time he comes home.

Sometimes it breaks my heart to see them this excited to hug their dad.

''They're also worried about him when he's away because of the virus, but we all try to stay strong.'' The mother said that because of their busy work schedule during the pandemic, they have to spent long periods of time away from home.

They have to leave afterwards that is why their children get too excited whenever they see them coming.