Bataan and Clark freeports check firms allowed to operate
The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) on Wednesday has assured that Chinese workers arriving in the country will undergo proper quarantine procedures.
AFAB information officer Hazel Keith Ellorin said they have investigated reports of undocumented Chinese working at the GN Coal Power Plant in Barangay Alas-Asin.
She said a joint force from the AFAB Incident Management Team and the Mariveles police conducted surprise inspection of the power plant to verify the report.
“Only 15 Chinese workers arrived from Thailand before the declaration of the enhanced community quarantine on March 15. They are currently under quarantine at the second floor of the emergency/quarantine facility for persons under monitoring within the plant’s compound,” Ellorin said.
She said the 15 Chinese were all documented and their arrival coordinated with the Bureau of Immigration. Foreign vessels, she said, legally dock to unload coal while the crew are prohibited to get off the vessel.
Ellorin said AFAB Administrator Emmanuel Pineda had requested the assistance of the Philippine Coast Guard to further intensify patrolling at the freeport’s coastal areas and the police to have heightened presence around the coal power plant facility.
In Pampanga, the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) through its Health and Sanitation Division conducted an inspection of various establishments allowed to continue operations in the freeport in spite the enhanced community quarantine measures imposed to stop the coronavirus pandemic.
A total of 38 firms are being monitored to determine if they are complying with health protocols such as social distancing, use of face masks and observation of other sanitation procedures.
The CDC allowed the operations of selected vital establishments in the Freeport, including groceries, hospitals, drugstores, petrol stations, banks, food establishments and convenience stores.
But it clarified that establishments might opt to operate on limited business hours, depending on their manpower.