Krah Pipes Manila emerging from the Pandemic
Philippines now rank 3rd among the Southeast Asian countries in terms of identified positive cases of the global pandemic, COVID-19 virus, with a total of 21,340 cases as of June 6. The country has first identified a positive case from a 34 year old Chinese woman who has a travel history from Wuhan last January 30. Three days after, the first death from the disease in the Philippines was confirmed. The virus then started spreading in the country until the government imposed the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) last March 16. The ECQ started in the whole island of Luzon where the national capital region, Manila, rests. It could be said that this government move came early then, but right now proves to be just the right thing to do as cases have drastically spread in just a span of days outside Metro Manila and to various provinces. The following day, March 17, President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Proclamation No. 929 that placed the entire Philippines under the state of calamity on account of COVID-19.
ECQ is a total lockdown which restricts the movement of the population except for necessity, work and health circumstances to mitigate the spread of the virus. It also mandates temporary closure of all non-essential shops and businesses.
With the combined effort of Interagency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases chaired by the Department of Health DOH, and supported by the military and private sectors, the virus spread if not lessened, is being contained. Through the National Action Plan (NAP) on COVID-19, the government aims to contain the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its socioeconomic impacts. The ECQ has been lifted to a modified general community quarantine (GCQ) in northern areas of Luzon and in Mindanao last May 16 and in Manila, last June 1.
Krah Cares maintain a salary support
After more than a month of ECQ, many private companies have already suffered with the economic inactivity and negative revenues, resulted to pay cuts and worse, implementing no work no pay scheme to their employees. Krah Pipes Manila is no exemption to the rule and had postponed its operations together with all non-food and non-medical manufacturing companies as part of the ECQ provisions to avoid the spread of the virus. Despite the lockdown and stoppage of work, the company, through Krah Cares Program, managed to maintain a 100% salary support to all employees and personnel and at the same time reach out to our kababayans through an outreach program where the team donated sacks of rice and dozens of dressed chickens to front liners in Medical City Hospital, bank personnel and barangays both in Cabuyao and Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Government infrastructure projects and all major public and private construction activities only came to resume when ECQ was lifted. In an interview with the Secretary of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Honorable Mark Villar, he mentioned that the agency has already came up with guidelines of work following the GCQ provisions for both pubic and private projects. In addition, they have to follow very strict guidelines for the protection of construction workers. Among these are testing before starting of work, all sites must have facilities for disinfection and handwashing, social distancing must be observed and provision of barracks at each site for workers so there will be no chance for COVID to spread.
One major infrastructure project of DPWH in the northern part of Luzon is in the province of La Union, particularly in San Fernando City. It commenced during the first quarter of this year, and has been temporarily stopped due to ECQ. The work resumed last June 2 with the construction/upgrading and rehabilitation of cross drainage along national road of 1.1km length with a 2 meter diameter, double barrel drains using krah load bearing structured wall pipes.
Originally, the drains are made of concrete box culverts that have been clogged and heavily silted by concrete and solid wastes from neighboring barangays.
Another main road project in Apalit, Pampanga in Central Luzon, has resumed. KPMI is supplying DN/ID 1200mm load bearing pipes for cross drain application in a 4km length road project connecting two major cities of Pampanga. This project is under the 1st district of DPWH in the said province. Despite the economic crisis that the whole world and our country is facing, infrastructure projects have to be prioritized in order to provide jobs to our civilians, keeping paychecks coming and some economic activity to keep going in certain areas, but keeping health and safety a top concern. This is also an advantage point for the state while there is reduced traffic and minimal activity from the majority of the population to speed up the construction process on major public and private infrastructure projects.
Author:
Krah Pipes Manila