NEWS

By Pilar Manuel

Metro Manila — Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Cynthia Villar recommends allowing labor-intensive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and construction to ensure stable and food supply and provide displaced workers income amid the extended enhanced community quarantine.

Villar said that while the agriculture sector is in full swing, some allied industries have either limited or stopped operations, leading to lower food supply in the market and food manufacturing workers getting displaced.

People are getting hungry and this must be addressed immediately, said the senator, as “many are willing to risk their lives and get infected with coronavirus, just to provide food for their family.”

“With the extension of the ECQ for another half a month, we need to intensify food production as well as ensure the unimpeded flow of fresh produce and food products all over the country,” Villar said.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said earlier that farmers, fishers, and other workers in food production play a vital role as “food security frontliners” in the country’s fight against the novel coronavirus.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shows agriculture workers comprise nearly 9.7 million or 22.7 percent of the total 42.65 million people employed as of January this year.

Workers in construction and other manufacturing sectors have also been affected by work stoppage due to the lockdown, Villar said.

“As we all know, workers in construction and manufacturing are daily wage earners who are compensated on a ‘no work, no pay’ basis. They have no source of income while on ECQ. While the government and companies may have extended financial assistance and relief goods, those will not be enough,” she said.

As of January, there were over 3.6 million manufacturing workers and over 4 million people working in construction. Both industries are under the industry sector, which is 18.8 percent or over 8 million of employed persons as of the first month of 2020, according to the PSA.

Villar added the imposition of enhanced community quarantine should also depend on industry types or sectors and not just on areas.

Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and other high-risk provinces in Luzon remain under enhanced community quarantine until May 15 as the country fights the deadly coronavirus.

Based on 2018 national data, Metro Manila contributes the largest share of the country’s economy at 36 percent, followed by the Calabarzon region with 17 percent, and Central Luzon just north of Manila with a 10 percent share of the national output of goods and services.

Source: CNN Philippines