30 workers, abandoned by bosses and stranded by COVID-19 travel bans, plead for help

TACLOBAN CITY—At least 30 construction workers from Northern Samar appealed for help to get past COVID-19 travel blockades to return home.

In a video posted on his Facebook account last March 24, Jonel Giray said he and his co-workers are stuck in Kawit, Cavite since the government started enforcing movement restrictions last March 15 all over Luzon to try to contain the disease.

The 21-year old construction worker said he and his co-workers wanted to go home to Laoang, Northern Samar since they no longer have funds to buy their daily needs after the management of their company abandoned them.

Giray appealed to the provincial government of Northern Samar or municipal officials of Laoang to rescue them.

“We were not paid by the management,” said Giray.

“We don’t have enough money to buy our needs. We just share what we have. We cannot go out because of this lockdown but we would like to return to Northern Samar,” said Giray in a private message also on Facebook.

He said the workers had been involved in the construction of a building at the Island Cove Resort which was converted into a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator hub.

Giray said there were about a hundred workers at the building but some of them were able to return home before the lockdown took effect.

Edited by TSB