Let labor-intensive sectors reopen – Villar
Workers from the agriculture, construction and manufacturing sectors should be allowed to return to work to prevent widespread hunger, social unrest and criminality that may be triggered by the prolonged enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon and other parts of the country, Sen. Cynthia Villar said yesterday.
Villar, who chairs the Senate committee on agriculture and food, expressed concern that the extended ECQ meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was already taking its toll
on the employment situation of the poor.
She said the government must implement “more realistic and sustainable measures should be put in place” to make it easier for the economy to recover once the lockdown is lifted.
The senator recommended the opening of labor intensive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and construction for the poor and lower middle class.
She noted that the agriculture sector is in full swing, but some allied industries have limited operations or have ceased operations, displacing food manufacturing workers and limiting the supply of food in the market.
With work stoppage due to the lockdown, many workers are not only stranded in their workplaces, but also without any income, according to the senator.
She warned that people are already going hungry, and if not addressed immediately, people may resort to crime to be able to eat.
Mass testing for workers
Meanwhile, a senior administration lawmaker yesterday urged the InterAgency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases to set guidelines for people returning to work in areas where the enhanced community quarantine will be lifted on May 15.
“Mass testing of workers is a must to ensure the safety of everyone and to prevent a resurgence of COVID-19 in areas that will no longer be covered by the ECQ,” Bagong Henerasyon partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrera said.
Herrera, House deputy majority leader, added that the guidelines must include requiring private companies and local government units (LGUs) to have their employees undergo rapid testing for COVID-19, stressing that it is “the only way to get back to a semblance of normalcy.”
The government may consider offering tax credit or any incentive to private firms to offset the cost of mass testing, according to the congresswoman. This is to make sure that the same will not be passed on to consumers and that such requirement will not result in higher inflation rate.
Herrera said only those who test negative for the virus will be allowed to return to work, while those who are positive must be brought immediately to hospitals or quarantine facilities set up by the LGUs.
To ensure that the testing requirement will not cause additional burden to consumers and businesses already bearing the brunt of the worst public health crisis of this generation, the government can offer private firms tax incentives, according to Herrera. This should correspond to the cost of having all their employees tested for COVID-19.
“The IATF may coordinate with the Department of Finance and the Department of Trade and Industry on how the government can help private companies comply with the testing requirement,” she said.