Farmers, fishers frontliners in fight vs. COVID-19 too -group

Farmers, fishers, and raisers should be considered as frontliners and be allowed to work in their farms even with the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) said Wednesday.

In a statement, SINAG decried reports that farmers are being barred from reaching their farms located in other barangays.

"We have received reports that farmers are barred from reaching their farms simply because they are not residents of the barangays where their farms or food production areas are located," said SINAG chair Rosendo So.

"Ang tirahan ng mga magsasaka o manggagawang bukid ay kalimitan nasa ibang barangay o karatig na munisipyo. Iba ang magiging hawak nilang quarantine pass o barangay ID at hindi sa lugar ng kanilang sinasaka."

From 12 a.m. on March 17, the entirety of Luzon was placed on ECQ until April 13, 2020, restricting travel within the region in efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 or coronavirus disease 2019.

Among those exempted from the ECQ are frontliners such as medical workers and employees of establishments that serve basic goods to the public.

In the statement, So cited the need for farmers to be considered as frontliners given the upcoming harvest season.

"The harvest season (for palay) is upon us; we are worried if they cannot harvest, if they are not allowed at the checkpoints to go to their farms," he said.

"We must only rely on our own capacity and capability to put food on our dining tables," added So.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier called on checkpoint personnel to allow the unhampered and unrestricted transit of deliveries of food and other agricultural goods. --Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/KBK, GMA News