Mariveles Mayor Jocelyn Castaneda and Administrator Emmanuel Pineda of
the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan during the signing og MOA
granting the municipality P3M in cash assistance for Covid-affected
workers
MARIVELES, Bataan — The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan on Friday granted P3 million in financial assistance to the municipality of Mariveles to help alleviate the economic effects on workers of the temporary closure of 97 multinational firms in compliance with the enhanced community quarantine declared by President Duterte.
AFAB administrator Emmanuel Pineda and Mariveles Mayor Jocelyn Castaneda signed the memorandum of agreement for the grant.
Hazel Ellorin, AFAB information officer, said that affected by the work suspension were more than 40,000 workers, 74 percent or 32,002 of whom are from Mariveles.
Pineda said he understood the plight of workers and sympathized with them in view of the public health crisis brought about by Covid–19.
He said that while AFAB continuously supports and abides by the guidelines set by the national government to prevent the spread of the virus, the freeport also prioritizes the best interest of workers.
“Ito ay pagpapakita ng aming sinserong pagnanais na matulungan ang bawat isa hindi lamang sa pagsugpo ng pagkalat ng virus kundi upang mabigyan ng dagliang tugon ang pangangailangan lalo ng mga freeport workers na hindi makakapasok sa trabaho,” Pineda said.
Castaneda thanked AFAB and said that the financial assistance will be primarily given to members of the community composed of freeport workers and other low income earners displaced by the enhanced community quarantine.
last Tuesday, the mayor placed Mariveles under a state of calamity.
