Selective barangay lockdowns in Metro Manila possible – DILG

Philippine Airforce personnel uses a drone to monitor the imposed total lockdown of Barangay Addition Hills in Mandaluyong City on Thursday, May 7, 2020, as the city tackles the coronavirus pandemic.-INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — Selective barangay lockdowns may be implemented in Metro Manila starting on June 1 should the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status be lifted by the end of May, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Monday said that this setup is “more applicable” to allow Metro Manila residents to adjust to the “new normal” brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Ito ‘yung sinimulan natin nitong May 16 at nakikita naman natin na maganda ang pagresponde ng ating local government units (LGUs) at ng ating mga kababayan, kaya baka after May 31 ito ‘yung ating tuloy-tuloy na ipapatupad,” he said in an interview on ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

(This is what we started on May 16 and we saw that the response of LGUs and the public is good, so after May 31, maybe we will continue implementing this.)

Earlier, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that Metro Manila may be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) on June 1.

The MECQ in Metro Manila will lapse on May 31.

Año said that a selective barangay lockdown will allow the government to focus its resources on specific areas that need more intervention against the pandemic.

He added that this setup may also not be limited to barangays.

“Pag sinabi naman na barangay, hindi naman necessarily na isang barangay. Pwedeng mas maliit pa. Pwedeng isang subdivision, isang neighborhood, depende sa kung paano natin ma-isolate kaagad ‘yung area na ito,” Año explained.

(When we say barangay, it’s not necessarily just a  barangay. It could be a smaller area. It could be a subdivision, a neighborhood, depending on how we can immediately isolate the area.)

In places  under lockdown, no one will be allowed to enter or leave the area and more law enforcers will be deployed, Año stressed.

Under the selective lockdown, Año said areas that have a high number of COVID-19 cases will be called critical zones, while nearby barangays will be called container zones, and surrounding areas with no confirmed case of the disease will be called buffer zones.

GSG