(Continued from March 20, 2020)
HEALTH MEASURES, SOCIO-ECONOMIC SUBSIDY
Bayan Panay stands that community quarantine should come with preventive and promotive health measures and socio-economic support to the vulnerable sectors and communities especially those who will be losing their jobs and/or the urban poor that is living in unsanitary and crowded communities.
Specifically, Bayan Panay calls for the following:
1) Massive free testing for COVID-19 to those who are suspected to be sick;
2) Free face mask, sanitation, and disinfection especially to urban poor communities;
3) Assign quarantine facilities in every barangays for PUI and PUM so that they can be given adequate medical attention and contain the spread of the virus;
4) Additional treatment and isolation facilities that come with free treatment and hospitalization of those tested positive for COVID-19;
5) Adequate support, protection, and hazard pay for health workers, professionals, media, and front liners combating COVID-19;
6) Additional capacity of the crisis intervention units (CIU) of DSWD, through its social workers, in giving aid against COVID-19;
7) No lay-off policy in times of COVID-19 and paid leave for workers who won’t be going to work, and financial assistance not less than P10,000 for contractual and informal workers that will undergo self-quarantine;
8) Financial assistance of not less than P10,000 to contractual and informal workers and OFWs that were repatriated;
9) Price control and ensuring basic products and services like water, electricity, medicines, and food;
10) Release the P1,000 second tranche of SSS pensioners and additional P1,000 for SSS and GSIS pensioners;
11) Return the P10 billion budget cut of the health department;
12) Realignment of P13 billion Contingency Fund, P16 billion Disaster Reduction Management Fund, and more than P4 b illion Confidential and Intelligence Fund of the Office of the President to combat COVID-19;
13) Right, timely and sustained information about COVID-19 and the steps to combat it in a way the public will understand.
Also, Bayan Panay calls on the people to be vigilant and expose any abuse committed in connection to “community quarantine” and the potential that this could be used by the Duterte government to further its fascist attacks against the people and advance its tyrannical rule./PN
