Metro Manila mayors’ meeting set to deliberate on next quarantine status

FILE PHOTO: Health workers and other frontliners fall in line to receive their COVID-19 vaccine at the Emilio Aguinaldo Elementary School in Cubao, Quezon City, on April 19, 2021. INQUIRER/RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — Mayors in Metro Manila are set to meet to deliberate on their recommendation regarding the next quarantine status for the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus Bubble, Metro Manila Council (MMC) Chairperson and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez announced Friday.

Olivarez said the meeting of the Metro Manila mayors usually happens every Sunday night.

“Itong pagpupulong na ito, ito ay magiging base po dito ‘yung ating magiging recommendation sa darating na katapusan na alam naman po natin na until April 30 ‘yung ating MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine),” Olivarez said in an interview with Teleradyo.

(The meeting will be about our recommendation on the quarantine status. We know that the MECQ is only until April 30.)

“So magpupulong kami kasama ‘yung ating representative ng DOH (Department of Health) dyan para malaman natin ‘yung data sa bawat isang local government unit sa NCR,” he added.

(We will meet together with our DOH representatives so we can discuss the data from each local government unit in NCR.)

Olivarez said their recommendation will be based on data from the different LGUs in NCR. But as for his city, Parañaque, the MMC chair said COVID-19 cases are “almost plateauing” in the last two weeks based on the meeting with their local task force.

“‘Yan (recommendation) ay pag-uusapan mabuti kasi kailangan natin consolidated ‘yung ating data. Hindi particular na isang siyudad lang kung hindi itong composed ng 16 na siyudad at isang munisipyo all over NCR,” Olivarez said.

(We will discuss our recommendation thoroughly because we need consolidated data. We cannot just dwell on one city but rather the 16 cities and one municipality in NCR.)

The national government earlier placed NCR Plus — Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan — under MECQ until April 30 due to the resurgence of new coronavirus cases.

KGA