Despite the dangers of being infected by COVID-19, President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in the boundary of Valenzuela-Meycauayan along MacArthur highway to check the condition of the stranded commuters who were caught by the start of the community quarantine of Luzon.
In a video posted by GMA News, Duterte was shown arriving without wearing a face mask, and his only protection against COVID-19 are the members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) who are ensuring that no one is going to get near the President.
Duterte went there to order the military and the police to let the stranded people pass the checkpoint.
According to some reports, some workers became stranded since 12 AM, the time when the Luzon community quarantine became effective.
Sa utos ng pangulo, pinadaan ng mga pulis at sundalo ang mga taong naabutan ng lockdown | via @JonathanAndal_ pic.twitter.com/918zf8i0us
— GMA News (@gmanews) March 16, 2020
Around 1:30 AM, Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian also went to the checkpoint to ask the Meycauayan Chief of Police to let the people stranded to go home.
However, it seems that the Mayor failed to convince the cops.
Thousands of passengers are still stranded in different places in Metro Manila because of the community quarantine in Luzon.
According to the recent order of the government, all mass transportation in Luzon should stop during the quarantine period, that’s why many passengers who are residing in provinces but working in Metro Manila were trapped inside the nation’s capital.
Aside from stopping mass transportation, the government also ordered all establishments to close down except banks, hospitals, groceries, pharmacies and other businesses that providing the basic needs to the people.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development was also ordered to distribute food assistance to residents in Luzon who will be most affected by the quarantine.