Factories at the Freeport Area of Bataan – more than 90 of them – were already allowed to operate but on condition that they allow only 50 percent of their manpower, to avoid the spread of the killer virus. The operation of FAB companies resumed Monday following the implementation of modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) that will be enforced until August 31 after the two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) status.
Hazel Keith Tallorin, an information writer at the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, said under the local IATF recommendation only workers residing in Mariveles town were allowed to return to work. Mariveles is under MECQ but with heightened restrictions. As per record at the AFAB Labor Center there were 40,485 workers at the FAB’s more than 90 export-oriented factories before the pandemic.
