Thousands are onboard cruise vessels off Manila Bay or trapped in hotels and cramped health facilities, some becoming dissatisfied with having screened the coronavirus negative and completing the 14-day quarantine required.

Overseas Filipino Workers, or OFWs, are breadwinners, and Duterte 's main support base.

The government is poised to return hundreds of thousands of more workers due to job losses as the coronavirus devastates economies around the world.

There were 29 boats in the cruise ship cluster off Manila Bay, none with passengers on board. We include thousands of Filipino workers still pending coronavirus examinations, many of whom are no longer earning compensation and venting grievances having met requirements already.

More than 30,000 Filipinos have returned home and as of May 20 515 out of 27,000 coronavirus samples were positive, authorities said. The Philippines has more than 14,000 cases with 868 deaths.

Maritime Business World