Following the onslaught of the coronavirus disease pandemic in the past two years, one of the sectors adversely affected by the deadly respiratory disease and its subsequent consequences was the sacadas — a term for migrant workers in and from the Philippines, doing manual agricultural labor.

These sacadas, also called seasonal cane cutters, or seasonal daily wage laborers, usually receive a wage during the peak labor season from November to April for being temporary workers usually in sugarcane plantations.

When the pandemic hit, most of the sacadas were out of work and resorted to doing other things while waiting for the national government's subsidy to augment their livelihood and survive for another day.

Most recently, the sacadas of Antique were given a huge lift as at least 4,203 active sugar plantation migrant workers were enrolled in the Social Security System as part of the provincial government's thrust to uplift the lives of these workers.

Randy Ardeño, in charge of the Sacada Desk of the Antique Provincial Planning and Development Office said that upon the direction of Governor Rhodora Cadiao, the long-coveted dream of the "sacadas" to be enrolled in the SSS was made a requirement for the contractors.

"During our collaboration meeting with the DoLE, we discussed the request of the governor for the labor department to make it as a requirement among the contractors that they will have to enroll the 'sacadas' they will be hiring with the SSS," Ardeño said.