Duterte urges employers in quarantine areas to protect workers from COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte appealed on Monday to businesses in areas where the general community quarantine (GCQ) would be imposed to ensure the safety of their workers from the threat of COVID-19 once the government had given its go signal for them to operate.

“The stores, the bazaars, malls — big or small — it behooves upon you to see to it that the workers are protected. Meaning to say that the sanitation of the place must be guaranteed and that the employees are provided with durable and workable masks,” Duterte said in a televised public address.

“You asked us to [let you] open. We agreed, but there are protocols to be followed,” he added. 

Duterte announced on Friday that several provinces — some of them in Luzon — would be placed under GCQ right after the end of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine. These areas are deemed to have a low to a moderate number of COVID-19 cases.

Some quarantine rules will be relaxed and several non-essential businesses will be allowed to reopen starting May 1 in areas where the GCQ will be enforced.

Areas under GCQ may allow the opening of non-leisure shops in malls and resume priority and essential construction projects. Partial operations of public transportation systems will also be allowed.

The following industries may resume “100 percent” opening under GCQ: agriculture, fishery, forestry, food manufacturing, packaging, food retail, supermarket, restaurants (for takeout and delivery), hospitals, logistics, water, water, energy, internet, telecommunications, and media.

A 50%t onsite work and 5% work-from-home scheme may also be imposed under GCQ in the following industries: financial services, BPO, other non-leisure wholesale and retail trade, other non-leisure services.

However, the President noted that the government was still finalizing the guidelines for the imposition of the GCQ.

Areas with a high risk of COVID-19 transmissions such as Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon would remain under strict confinement measures until May 15.

/atm