Amid the enhanced community quarantine declaration by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday night, Marino Partylist First Representative Sandro Gonzalez called for alternative employment programs for seafarers, as well as daily wage earners.
Gonzalez vowed that the Partylist will perform its mandate in making sure the needs of the seafarers and their families are met at the height of this contagion.
“Our seafarers are not exempted from the wrath of this virus. The Partylist assures our constituents that we will provide necessary support and assistance to address whatever impact this pandemic may bring to them and their immediate families,” Gonzalez said.
The lawmaker pointed out that seafarers suffer when their employment contracts are suspended as a result of travel restrictions ensuing from the COVID-19 outbreak. As such, they should be extended with help.
“An alternative employment program or livelihood assistance for seafarers should be in place in this time of adversity. This is to mitigate the economic effects of this pandemic because seafarers do not have a choice when their contracts are put on hold. They need to work to feed their families,” Gonzalez explained.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez echoed the government’s earlier reminder for people to comply with the quarantine regulations to quell the spread of the virus as well as appealed to the public and business owners to refrain from hoarding food and medical supplies.
The legislator likewise lauded the efforts of health workers who put their lives at risk in combating the disease, and the private sector who are extending their resources in these trying times.
According to the first representative, the Marino Partylist will donate testing kits to the Department of Health (DOH) to meet the dwindling supply.
