MANILA, Philippines — Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles confirmed late Tuesday night that the Department of Transportation has been directed to implement point-to-point (P2P) transportation services for health workers amid the community quarantine of Luzon.

Nograles said the transportation would develop the system "in cooperation with local government units and upon consultation with the Department of Health."

Vice President Leni Robredo earlier Tuesday rolled out a similar measure after the Office of the Vice President pledged to arrange shuttles for health workers who have had a hard time getting to work

This came as reports on Tuesday morning that health workers as well as workers for businesses exempted from the strict home quarantine were forced to find other means of transportation.

The Palace on Tuesday evening released a proclamation that President Rodrigo Duterte signed on Monday declaring a nationwide state of calamity in the Philippines as a result of the worsening spread of the virus.

According to Nograles, public and private health workers, private health workers—which include medical professionals, hospital administrative staff, aides and service providers—along with aid workers and volunteers of the Philippine Red Cross and the World Health Organization are among those considered frontliners and who are exempted from the home quarantine.

The cabinet secretary also said that all government agencies in the executive branch are directed to issue accreditation orders for skeletal workforces for essential functions

Skeletal workforces may use official vehicles, he said.

Other initiatives discussed at the briefing, which was held after 11 p.m. on Tuesday, include:

Agencies with jurisdiction over those exempted from strict home quarantine are to issue IATF accreditation IDs.

PCOO will be in charge of designing the seal and design of the official IATF accreditation IDs

IATF IDs to be issued by March 20 but bonafide work IDs will be sufficient until then.

Workers excused

At the same press briefing in Malacañang, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that workers in exempted industries shall not be penalized if they cannot manage to get to work because of mass transportation has been suspended.

With Duterte's declaration of enhanced community quarantine over mainland Luzon, work in both the private and public sectors has been limited to those who have work-from-home arrangements.

"Kung ayaw payagan ng employers, puwede hindi pumasok ang manggagawa," Bello said Tuesday night.

"Since they are under enhanced community quarantine, they are excused."

Earlier that day, he said that there would be no double pay and hazard pay granted to those who would come in to work that day.

Bello also said that affected workers could use their leave credits throughout the implementation of community quarantine.

As of this writing, there are a total of 187 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country after the Department of Health confirmed 45 new patients that same day.

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