Sotto backs MECQ: Rushing back to ‘old’ normal will be reckless

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto lll. INQUIRER.net photo / Ryan Leagogo

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III backed the government’s decision to place Metro Manila and other “high risk” areas under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), saying that “rushing back to the ‘old’ normal” would be “reckless.”

“I know that many of our people in the National Capital Region and other areas who are under MECQ are itching to go back to their jobs and start earning incomes again. I understand their concerns about losing their work and being unable to provide for the basic needs of their families,” Sotto said in a statement on Tuesday.

READ: NCR, Laguna, Cebu City placed under modified ECQ until May 31

While these concerns are “valid and serious,” the Senate president believes that it would be “best if we all proceed on the side of caution and not throw away the gains of our sacrifices for almost two months.”

“Rushing back to the ‘old’ normal, or even just a semblance of it will be reckless. It will expose (the) majority of our people to the continuing threat of the infectious novel coronavirus and open the gates for a second wave, which could be more vicious and difficult to handle,” he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte initially placed Metro Manila under community quarantine on March 15, but it was upgraded a day later to an ECQ covering the entire Luzon region until April 12.

The ECQ on Luzon was then extended until April 30 to further curb the spread of the coronavirus.

A week before it lapsed, Duterte again extended the ECQ in Metro Manila and several “high-risk” areas until May 15 while a general community quarantine (GCQ) was imposed in “low risk” areas where some movement restrictions were relaxed.

On Tuesday, the government announced that several “moderate-risk” areas, some of which were earlier placed under ECQ, will transition into a GCQ starting May 16.

“The downgrade to a general community quarantine for many regions should be a challenge for everyone to be more responsible individuals – humans who care for the welfare of each other and the welfare of the state,” Sotto went on.

“Ngayon natin makikita ang disiplina at responsibilidad ng bawat isa sa atin. Walang sinuman sa atin ang gustong bumalik ulit sa ECQ.  Nakasalalay sa ating lahat ang success o failure ng ating laban kontra COVID-19,” he added.

(We will now see how every single one of us would display discipline and responsibility. None of us would want to go back to an ECQ. It is up to us whether or not our battle against COVID-19).

As of Monday afternoon, Philippine health officials have confirmed over 11,000 COVID-19 cases in the country.

Of the number, close to 2,000 have already recovered while 726 have died.