By RUFFIE CRUZ | 

SAN MARCELINO, Zambales (March 19) — Many daily wage earners find it hard to understand the new Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) rules as municipalities implement unique protocols and even barangay captains are allowed to act independently.

Michael ‘Boy’ Santiago, a tricycle driver in this town is one of them. A father of four, he continues to wait for government food or cash assistance for informal workers amid the suspension of public transport facilities—a long wait that has continued as of this writing.

“Siyempre, mas gusto ko din na sa bahay na lang muna ako, kung may ibibigay ang gobyerno,” Mang Boy said when asked if we wants to continue transporting passengers.

“[Kasi] wala din naman mapapasadahan dahil wala ding pasahero,” he added.

However, he has not received any government aid since the Luzon-wide quarantine was declared on March 17, contrary to what President Rodrigo Duterte has promised on TV.

San Marcelino has a total of 401 persons under monitoring (PUMs) since the new coronavirus (Covid-19) emergency was declared. Mang Boy is a resident of Barangay Linasin, where at least three PUMs from Manila are living near his house and currently undergoing home quarantine.

“Wala pa kaming natatanggap. Pangatlong araw ko nang hindi mamamasada bukas” Mang Boy told Headline Zambales.

“Kahit lumalapit man lang na magsurvey, galing ng munisipyo o galing ng barangay, wala [pa],” he lamented.

SOCIAL DISTANCING GAPS

The local government of San Marcelino has already implemented strict social distancing rules. It has ordered the closure of all establishments, except suppliers of essential goods like food and medicine, and sanitized the San Marcelino public market. And market day is now limited to half day only.

However, there is still no visible movement in distribution of food assistance for minimum wage earners in Linasin. The barangay has not yet issued IDs that would allow one family member to go outside and buy food or medicine.

Headline Zambales is still trying to get official quarantine protocols and efforts from the Municipal Task Force of San Marcelino.

“Handa naman kaming sumunod. Kailangan talaga ‘lockdown’ muna,” Mang Boy clarified.

“Nabigla ako nung buong Luzon na pala ang ‘lockdown’, pero tama lang yun. Hindi lang dapat Maynila kasi nga pwede tayong mahawa,” he added.

Mang Boy, 58, has supported his family working as a tricycle driver for more than half of his life.

He is also a construction worker and a self-taught mechanic but given his age, he cannot engage in any of these activities anymore. Mang Boy’s left eye is also completely blind.

His four daughters have their own families now. One is in Manila; another is in Pangasinan. Only two children remain with him now: two daughters, whose husbands are Hanjin workers who were laid off few months ago due to company-wide bankruptcy.

Aside from the health risks, the Covid-19 emergency will also have huge economic impact on Mang Boy and other daily wage-earners.

 

PHOTOS: Residents line up to buy foodstuffs at a grocery store in Olongapo City, as tricycles ferry passengers from markets and groceries in these photos taken on March 20, the fourth day of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.  The photos illustrate how the Covid-19 emergency puts the economically-impacted daily wage-earners to further health risks. (Photos by DWIGHT BAUTISTA)