Coronavirus: Philippines’ Luzon lockdown hits domestic helper agencies in Singapore

The Luzon island lockdown has prevented Filipino helpers from travelling to Singapore and Hong Kong, impacting the supply of domestic workers in Asia

Some employers are axing their workers’ contracts out of infection fears, while on the other hand, some helpers are refusing to work in the two virus-hit cities

Reading Time:5 minutes

Some Philippine workers have had to delay their flights to Singapore and Hong Kong as Luzon goes into lockdown. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 9:37pm, 20 Mar 2020Updated: 10:54pm, 20 Mar 2020

When Genelyn Malusay, 42, learnt that her Cebu Pacific flight from Manila to Singapore on Thursday evening was cancelled, the domestic worker rang her agency and friends in a panic.

She was worried she would not be able to travel to the city state just hours before Luzon – the country’s most populous island that is home to over 57 million people and where the capital is located – entered a lockdown as a measure to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

“I was sad and I was asking around how I could go to Singapore,” said Malusay, who later managed to reach the Lion City after her Singaporean employers forked out US$700 for a one-way ticket.

The Quezon City native is one of many workers who have been impacted by tightening travel restrictions around Southeast Asia, which have left domestic helper agencies grappling with disruptions to worker supply, particularly in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Malusay’s friends were not as lucky. She said at least five of them were stuck at the airport when their flights were cancelled and they had to postpone their departure for more than a month. Three of them had contracts signed with employers in Singapore, while the other two were bound for Hong Kong.

“They were hoping they could work to earn money for their family and children, but now they can just pray that flights are opened [before] the one-month lockdown ends,” Malusay said.

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