(FILE PHOTO) Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez. YANCY LIM/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO FILE
MANILA, Philippines — For Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, easing age restrictions in modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) areas will not only help the economy recover but also let children as young as 10 years old go out for “family bonding.”
“Sa easing of age restriction, this is really more for family bonding,” Lopez said in an online Palace briefing.
“Either kakain lamang o mamimili ng kaunti tapos uuwi na rin ‘yan eh. Ang importante magkakasama ‘yung buong pamilya at nagpapalakas pa sila ng ekonomiya,” he added.
(Either they eat out or shop a little then they go home. What’s important is that they are with their entire family and they are strengthening the economy.)
Lopez noted that family spending accounts for around 30 to 50 percent of sales in commercial establishments.
Children as young as 10 residing in MGCQ areas, which is the most lenient quarantine measure, will be allowed to go out starting February 1.
In GCQ areas such as Metro Manila, only individuals aged 15 to 65 can go outside of their homes.
Asked why children as young as 10 have been allowed to go out but the government has yet to resume face-to-face classes, Lopez cited the interaction with other students and non-compliance to health protocols as possible health risks.
“[Let’s imagine] po ‘yung intensity ng interaction ‘pag nasa eskwelahan ‘yung bata, magkakatabi ang mga mag-aaral, ang mga estudyante, constant interaction, mas hindi po natin mabantayan,” said Lopez.
(Imagine the intensity of interaction in school, they are sitting next to each other, they have constant interaction and we can’t monitor that.)
“Mas mahirap po, mas hindi po maprotektahan yung compliance sa minimum health protocol, baka mas manganib, delikado po,” he continued.
(It will be harder to protect them and their compliance to minimum health protocol might be at risk.)
Earlier, Malacañang also justified the government’s decision saying this will be good for the children’s “physical, social and mental health.”