The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed poverty and exacerbated social inequality. Our role as academics is to illuminate these social issues to help policy makers address them adequately. Hence, we conducted this ethnographic study situated within the discourse urban-rural divide to assess the Philippine Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP), a COVID-19 education response, through the help of three teachers who, like us, the researchers, have been exposed to the rural and urban areas in Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte. In our effort to promote social justice and equity in education, we have privileged the voices of those in the marginalized rural sector. We interviewed the teacher key actors, conducted autoethnography and participant observation, and studied secondary sources available. Data sources were triangulated, and data transcripts were analysed through thematic analysis, drawing on relevant theories and literature. Interrelated social factors instigated by the government's biased past policies are (a) socioeconomic impact of COVID-19, (b) digital divide, (c) school location, and (d) parental education. While the pandemic affected urban and rural residents, the latter felt a severe impact. This study underscores the teacher agency in the BE-LCP policy: Teachers recommended monitoring learning outcomes, attending to low-performing learners, supporting home-based learning, and providing teaching resources.