For daily wage earners, the enhanced community quarantine mandated by President Rodrigo Duterte has been a troubling situation for them.
For most, the quarantine leaves them with no option to work, and having no work means no pay and no means of feeding themselves and their families.
On the Twitter account of ABS-CBN News reporter Nikolo Baua, he shared the plight of a 68-year old vendor named Carlota who usually buys vegetables from Divisoria in order to sell them in Caloocan.
“Dapat po hindi naman ang ganyan ang ginawa. Dapat po hinde pinasara yung mga sasakyan.”
Carlota narrated how she could not find any transportation and was forced to walk a long distance for two hours.
“Mahirap nag hahanap buhay walang kakainin lalo na mga katulad namin. Wala kaming pinagkakakitaan.”
Hello influencer, meet 68yr old vendor Carlota. She doesnt earn from clicks or likes. This morning she was forced to walk for 2hrs from Caloocan to Divisoria because there was no public transpo. She needed to buy veggies, so she can sell & earn. Otherwise, she earns nothing. pic.twitter.com/6nGz6jFqJG
— Niko Baua (@Nikobaua) March 17, 2020
Commuters like workers from public and private sectors were unable to pass the McArthur Highway as the Enhanced Community Quarantine took effect in Luzon, including Metro Manila, early Tuesday morning, said Jonathan Andal of GMA News on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/piriritzy/status/1239704054911000582?s=20
With what happened on Valenzuela-Meycauyan boundary, it raised opinions that it broke the social distancing protocol.
https://twitter.com/sunshinehobiii/status/1239826012440944640?s=20
The “enhanced community quarantine” ordered by the President at the beginning of Tuesday includes 57 million people in 8 regions who have been advised to stay home to help reduce the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Under the new law, a strict quarantine will be enforced for all households, transport will be suspended, and provision of food and “critical health services” will be governed on the basis of an earlier memorandum released by Malacañang.