Interior Secretary Eduardo Año. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — There is no government directive regarding the enforcement of modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila this December amid the threat of coronavirus disease, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Saturday.
“Fake news,” Año, who told reporters in a Viber message when asked about a memorandum allegedly issued by the Philippine National Police (PNP), which stated that MECQ will be implemented in Metro Manila starting Dec. 19.
In a separate text message, PNP spokesman Brigadier General Ildebrandi Usana echoed Año’s answer, saying only the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) “has the sole authority to issue directive regarding quarantine measures.”
Last November, President Rodrigo Duterte already announced the extension of general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila for the whole month of December.
READ: PH going back to ECQ this Christmas season? IATF says it’s fake news
As of Saturday, the Philippines logged a total of 451,839 COVID-19 cases, with 418,867 recoveries and 8,812 deaths.