Sen. Grace Poe. Screen grab / Senate PRIB file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Grace Poe on Monday hoped for a “better ending” to the new round of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed in Metro Manila and four nearby provinces.
“If this lockdown is a necessary replay of the past, we hope for a better ending this time, one that will bring us closer to overcoming this pandemic,” Poe said in a statement Monday.
Over the weekend, Malacañang announced that the ECQ will be imposed over Metro Manila and four adjacent provinces—Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna—beginning March 29 until April 4 due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.
It was in March last year that the government first placed Metro Manila and other areas under ECQ.
In imposing the restrictions, Poe called for effective enforcement of health protocols “but with respect to the rights of our people.”
“We seek timely and sufficient cash aid and other assistance to needy families, so they won’t be forced to go out of their homes to find food and basic needs,” she also said.
“We call for adequate transportation for workers who need to be on-site and coordinated policies to ensure the unimpeded flow of goods,” she added.
“As we remain in our homes, we hope vaccination, testing, contact tracing, and isolation will be relentless and wide-ranging,” she further said.
ECQ ‘ayuda’
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) earlier said some 22.9 million beneficiaries in ECQ-areas are expected to receive financial aid from the government due to the imposition of the strict restrictions.
Senator Sonny Angara, chair of the Senate finance committee, welcomed the assistance being laid out to Filipinos in view of lockdown.
“I think they are meeting as we speak to thresh out the details. We are encouraged by [DBM] Sec. Wendel Avisado’s remarks that ideally 80 percent of households is what is under consideration,” Angara said in a message shared to reporters.
“This will help a lot of people meet their daily needs during the ECQ,” he added.