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Article

8 Apr 2020

Author:
Rambo Talabong, Rappler

Philippines: brutal arrests of low-wage workers demanding help during coronavirus qarantine

"Quezon City residents demanding help amid lockdown arrested by police", 01 April 2020

Some 21 Quezon City residents were arrested by cops from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) on Wednesday, April 1, after staging a protest to demand help amid the government’s lockdown that attempts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus but has disenfranchised millions of Filipinos… Most, if not all, of the residents lived in Sitio San Roque, a community mostly populated by low-wage earners like factory and construction workers, who could not work amid the lockdown. So far, there are conflicting accounts as to whether all the arrested persons did take part in the protest, or were just looking for food… One of the San Roque residents on the scene during the confrontation, said that they came to the area after they received information that help would be given out to them in connection with the lockdown… The arrests come as the government still struggles to enforce a lockdown or "enhanced community quarantine" to keep people inside amid the outbreak of the highly infectious coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but many have pointed out that the lockdown can only be effective if the government delivers social relief for disenfranchised Filipinos.