Eleven fish canneries in the city that supply around 85 percent of the canned sardines found in the country’s supermarket shelves and sari-sari stores could shut down as a result of the community quarantine imposed by the city government here as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Businessmen said their workers continued to face hardships in reporting for work as the local government suspended the operation of public transportation in the city. Because the canneries are engaged in the production of food, these are among the businesses exempted from closure amid the enhanced community quarantine measure that began on Friday, March 20. However, the heightened containment measure imposed here followed the sealing off of the city to nonresidents beginning on March 16, at which time land, sea and air travel were also suspended.

Alipala, J. S. (2020, March 23). Fish canners warn of shutdown: If factories shut down, the entire canning industry will collapse, affecting over 30,000 workers, warns biz group. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A5.