DTI wants quarantine restrictions eased after Aug. 20

Ramon Lopez and Joey Concepcion

MANILA, Philippines — While the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) would rather see quarantine restrictions eased after Aug. 20 to allow more people to work, the presidential adviser for entrepreneurship preferred “stronger measures” to be implemented in Metro Manila, like limiting the movements of unvaccinated people, to preserve “the benefits of the lockdown.”

In an online briefing on Tuesday, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said that from enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the national capital should transition to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) later this week, although he clarified the final decision would still be up to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

Earlier, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines pushed for the reopening of the economy after Aug. 20, a suggestion backed by the DTI, which said it also wanted people to return to work to prevent them from going hungry.

“That’s what we’ll balance when the IATF meets this week. We will look at the latest data. [We will see] if there is a threat or if the number is manageable even though it is slightly at the high side and that there is no risk of a huge uncontrollable surge,” Lopez said.

‘Granular lockdowns’

“I also believe we can de-escalate to MECQ and [enforce] strict granular lockdowns [instead],” he added.

For Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion, who earlier pushed for the two-week lockdown to prevent a surge in COVID-19 cases with even worse economic consequences, there should be stronger measures to avoid wasting the gains made under ECQ.

“Implementing stronger measures during the ECQ in NCR (National Capital Region), even if it is extended, will preserve the benefits of the lockdown. It will prevent us from compromising what we have already achieved so far, and what we can possibly achieve in the future. We’ll finally reap the benefits of our sacrifices,” he said.

He suggested that the vaccinated be given more mobility than the unvaccinated after Aug. 20. But Lopez said this should be considered only in the future—once more people get inoculated and when the supply of COVID-19 vaccines exceeds the number of those who want it.

Only fully vaccinated

“We are pushing for establishments in NCR, such as malls, restaurants and others, to allow only fully vaccinated individuals so we can create safer bubbles. For example, dining areas with fully vaccinated restaurant crew serving fully vaccinated dine-in customers,” Concepcion said.

According to him, limiting the movements of the unvaccinated—unless work-related —would also be for their protection. He said that “employees, for example, should travel only from their homes to their workplaces, and vice-versa, even during the possible extension of ECQ in Metro Manila.”

Concepcion’s suggestion however, might go against the Department of Labor and Employment’s reminder not to discriminate against those who had yet to be inoculated, particularly workers.

—WITH A REPORT FROM JEROME ANING INQ