IMEE: FRONTLINER AID SHOULD COVER JANITORS, GARBAGE COLLECTORS

Garbage collectors, street sweepers, janitors and other workers involved in sanitizing our communities should be considered frontliners just as crucial as medical staff in the fight against COVID-19, Senator Imee Marcos said.

Marcos called on the government to ensure financial aid like stipends, if not steady employment, for sanitation workers who have a clear role in reducing the spread of disease and are employed in hospitals, government offices, condominiums, super market and other business establishments.

"Huwag nating kalimutan ang mga basurero, street sweepers at mga janitor na tumutulong para labanan ang COVID-19. Buwis-buhay din ang kanilang ginagawang trabaho," Marcos said.

Anticipating that an ongoing lockdown in Luzon would be extended, Marcos filed Senate Bill 1414 to sustain frontliners as well as ordinary workers who may lose their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis.

The bill proposes to augment the government's P200-billion emergency budget with additional government funds and loans totalling P750 billion, specified in a program Marcos called Pag-ASA: Alaga, Sustento, Angat.

Marcos added that soldiers, policemen, immigration personnel, couriers and cargo handlers of crucial goods, and drivers of shuttle services for hospital staff should also be recognized as frontliners in the fight against COVID-19.