Minority bloc senators demand clarifications on Metro Manila lockdown

MANILA, Philippines — Senators from the minority bloc wants clarifications on the community quarantine or lockdown that the government has imposed on Metro Manila amid the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) threat.

On Thursday night, President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire metropolis under lockdown in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease as confirmed cases continue to increase.

Land, domestic air, and domestic sea travel to and from Metro Manila will be suspended starting March 15, 2020, until April 14.

READ: Metro Manila placed under ‘community quarantine’ due to COVID-19

The government has also upgraded its COVID-19 alert status from Code Red Sublevel 1 to Sublevel 2.

READ: Philippines upgrades coronavirus alert to Code Red Sublevel 2

Senators Franklin Drilon, Francis Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros and Leila de Lima, in particular, want to know how trucks carrying food and other supplies to and from Metro Manila will be affected by the lockdown.

“What happens to the scheduled arrival of semi-perishable and perishable goods estimated at billions of pesos during the lockdown period? Will these goods be diverted? Will these shipping entries be exempt from the lockdown?” they said in a statement.

The senators also asked to be clarified on the guidelines covering workers during the lockdown. It is estimated that some 4 million workers reside in the nearby provinces of  Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal but go daily to Metro Manila for work.

Protocols for public transport within Metro Manila should also be clarified under the lockdown, the senators added.

The minority senators also want more details and updates on the contact tracing being done on those who tested positive for COVID-19, as well as the travel ban to and from China, where the coronavirus that causes the disease had originated.

They would also like to know the plans of the National Economic Development Authority and make sure that the economy is resilient and could “bounce back” from the shocks brought about by the pandemic.

“The rate at which the COVID-19 cases multiply each day poses a very serious threat. If we fail to arrest the increase, our healthcare system, no matter how equipped it is, will face difficulty in dealing with COVID-19 cases,” the senators said.

The minority bloc said they are willing to work with the Duterte administration to “enact emergency legislation needed so that the government can respond more quickly to the crisis.”

Edited by MUF