Workers get into a truck for a free ride home in Manila on March 17 after the government imposed measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, including suspending all public transport on Luzon island. (Photo: Ted Aljibe/AFP)
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared a “state of calamity” across the entire nation because of rising Covid-19 infections.
The state of calamity will be in effect for six months until September “unless earlier lifted or extended as circumstances may warrant,” according to the proclamation issued on March 17
Under the declaration, Duterte directed the armed forces and law enforcement agencies to take all necessary steps to maintain order and froze prices for basic necessities.
The proclamation will allow both national and local government units to use quick response funds to contain the spread of the coronavirus, said Martin Andanar, the presidential communications chief.
The Metro Manila Development Authority has also reminded people to stay in their homes and observe social distancing in grocery stores and other public places.
Tension is building among commuters and in the transport sector since the government suspended all modes of public transport as part of a lockdown across Luzon, the country’s largest and most populated island.
Anger is growing among many people without vehicles wanting to travel to the capital to work as many employers operate on a “no work, no pay” policy.
“We need to eat. How will we survive if we do not work?” one angry factory worker who wished to remain anonymous told UCA News.
Duterte has promised that the government will provide basic necessities for low-income workers, but many doubt his sincerity.
“We will only believe him once it is there. If not, we need to find ways to feed our families,” said one out-of-work jeepney driver.
“We will get hungry. We have no source of income. We don’t have money to buy rice," an angry taxi driver told UCA News.
Companies have also been told to give out annual one-month salary bonuses to workers after work was suspended at private and government offices.
Those still wanting to get into Manila to work, including health workers, are encountering problems other than the lack of transport.
Thousands are being forced to queue — in some cases for as long as five hours — to undergo thermal scanning at checkpoints in the city.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said measures are now being put in place to take health workers to work from designated pick-up points. This, he said, “will ensure that they arrive on time in their respective hospitals or places of work.”
Meanwhile, Jesuit Communications (JesCom) will launch daily Masses for Catholics titled "Keeping the Faith: Daily Mass for Difficult Times."
The Masses will be livestreamed at 8am every day from March 19, the media arm of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus said in a statement.
As of March 17, the Philippines had recorded 187 Covid-19 cases with 12 deaths, according to government figures.