(INQUIRER FILE/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government should focus on speeding up the COVID-19 vaccination drive and enforcing health protocols amid the threat of a more transmissible Delta variant, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said Thursday.
The PCCI added that it is against a proposed two-week hard lockdown proposed by OCTA Research Group.
OCTA warned of a surge in COVID-19 cases and full capacity in Metro Manila hospitals by mid-August if no strict lockdown enforced.
PCCI acting president Edgardo Lacson told Teleradyo on Thursday that the group’s stand was “misquoted.”
PCCI earlier announced that it agreed to a new round of restrictions recommended by OCTA.
The Department of Health rejected PCCI’s proposal, saying that the country does not need a lockdown at the moment.
“We, a group of businesses, believe in the DOH. They are the ones who know when to enforce a ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown,” Lacson said in Filipino.
“The data analyzed by OCTA is also from the DOH. So if the DOH is saying that we don’t need a lockdown, I don’t understand why OCTA is saying otherwise,” he added.
“We shouldn’t be too afraid of COVID…We should not treat COVID-19 as if it’s unbeatable,” he went on.
Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan will remain under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions from August 1 to 15, despite OCTA’s recommendations and request of Metro Manila mayors for a stricter lockdown.