Metro Manila mayors eyeing house-to-house vaccination during ECQ – Olivarez

 (REUTERS/File Photo)

MANILA, Philippines — Should the proposed 14-day enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) be imposed in Metro Manila,  house-to-house COVID-19 vaccination will be conducted in the region,  Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez said Friday.

Olivarez, chairman of the Metro Manila Council (MMC), reiterated the mayors’ readiness to implement ECQ should the government’s pandemic task force decide to enforce it.

“Ang hinihingi lang po ng Metro Manila Council, ‘yun pong additional vaccines para kapag nag-ECQ po tayo, talagang iha-house-to-house na po natin ‘yan per barangay na po talaga yung ating vaccination para makuha natin yung proteksyon ng ating community,” he told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

(What the Metro Manila Council is requesting are additional vaccines so that if the ECQ is imposed, we can have house-to-house vaccination, we’ll do it per barangay so that we can really get protection for our community.

Likewise, Olivarez said local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila would also need support from the national government to augment their funds in case stricter restrictions are enforced.

“Kaya naman pong suportahan din po yun, pero basically po, kapag 14 days, baka mahirapan po yung mga LGU, kaya nga po humihingi ng tulong po ang mga LGU natin sa national government para ma-augment pero rest assured po ang LGU maga-allocate ng ayuda para sa ating mga kababayan,” he added.

(We can provide support but if it’s 14 days, the LGUs may struggle, that’s why we are asking the national government to augment our funds, but rest assured, the LGUs will allocate aid for our constituents.)

Malacañang had already earlier said it is not sure if the government has funds for monetary assistance should Metro Manila be placed under ECQ anew.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque previously said President Rodrigo Duterte will not allow the imposition of ECQ in any area if the government will not be able to extend aid.

In Iloilo province, Cagayan de Oro City, and Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental which are under ECQ until August 7, the government will distribute P1,000 aid to affected residents, with a limit of P4,000 per family.

Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Laguna, and Cavite or the so-called NCR Plus, meanwhile, remain under general community quarantine “with heightened restrictions” until August 15.

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