COVID-19 and the working class

The Luzon-wide lockdown as a measure imposed against the spread of COVID-19 is unnecessarily burdening the poor who need to work, day in and day out, to assuage the grumblings of the guts. While nations around the world — with notable exceptions like South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore — have imposed lockdowns in major cities, no country has perhaps pushed the limits so far than the Philippines.

Aping the Chinese operations in Wuhan, the government has imposed a full lockdown over the island of Luzon including the banning of public transportation. While most of the cases are found in the Metropolitan Manila area, the “enhanced community quarantine” has progressed toward the inclusion of regions outside the metropolis.

This has hammered the poor in the worst possible ways. Mass transportation and the informal economy have ceased to function, leaving families stretching their meager incomes. Employees in the services, manufacturing and construction sectors have been advised to take forced leaves or are in limbo as everybody is ordered to hunker down in their homes.

With a “no work, no pay” policy in their companies, workers face imminent starvation as government aid is slow to arrive. The directive on local government units to feed their hungry constituents does not appear to be working as politicians selectively provide undernourishing food relief that can only last for a couple of days.

Trapped in the cities and special economic zones are thousands of labor migrants who were unable to leave for their home provinces during the 48-hour window from the issuance of the lockdown order until its date of effectivity.

Mostly young females except for male construction laborers, they would have preferred living in these tumultuous times with their families, relatives, and friends. Unfortunately for them, however, they are stuck in limbo, trapped in the concrete jungle where their access to the basic necessities like food, water, and accommodation are getting more scarce as the socioeconomic impact of a draconian lockdown sinks deeper.

ARMAND CAMHOL
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