MARCH
,. MoNDAY
i / 9, 2o2o
WWW.INQUIRER,NET
WORI(
FR0illl0ltlE
SGHEilE
PROPOSEO
By DJ Yap
@deeiayapINQ
Businesses ard offlces should
strongly consider permitting
their employees to work from
home following the declara-
tion of the coronavirus dis-
ease (COVID-1g) outbreak as
a public health emergency, a
House leader said on Sunday.
Deputy Speaker Luis Ray-
mund Mllafuerte Jr. uged em-
ployers to make say-at-home
arrangements for their workers
to reduce their risk of getting
infected after the Philippines
reported its first local transmis-
sion of ttle pneumonia-causing
sichless over the weekend.
"With the President
declaring a state of public
health emergency and the
Department of Health rais-
ing its COVID-19 alert level
to code red, employers could
do their part in helpingbreak
th€ chain of local transmis-
sionby adopting, if and when
possible, telecommuting for
their workers," he said.
To contain virus
The Camarines Sur law-
maker said the government
should now focus on the
swift deployment of resourc-
to contain the sPread of
es
COVID-19.
Vi.tlatuerte said EmPloY-
ers Confederation of the
Philippines and other grouPs
should adopt telecommut-
ing whenever Possible, not-
ing that the Department
of Labor and Employment
was also encouraging work-
from-home arrangements to
reduce the chances of infec-
don among workers,
Republic Act No. 11165 Pro-
vides for "fak treatment" for
telecommuting emPloYees,
who are supposed to b6 given
- the\same benefits as
emPIoY-
ees working in the office, in-
cluding pay rates, rest Pedods,
holidays, among others.
In a separate statement,
Quezon City Rep. Precious
Hipolito Castelo urged Con-
gress to exempt mask, sani-
tizers and similar goods ftqm
import duties and local tdxes
to "assure adequate suPPlY, '
stabilize prices and avoid
hoarding at this time of crisis."
Bohol ReP. Alexie Tutor,
for her part, said the govern-
ment should mount an ag-
gressive campaign to stress
ttre importance of Personal
hygiene in Preventing the
spread of COVID-r9.
"we must learn the sim-
ple but crucial lessons of fre-
quent handwashing, includ-
ing washing hands with soaP
at restrooms and handwash-
ing before eating," said Tu-
tor, avice chair of the House
health committee. Na ,
s pAqa -A+u