Makati Mayor Abby Binay during the INQside Look interview.
MANILA, Philippines — Makati Mayor Abigail “Abby” Binay said that the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) had been less than successful given that people’s mobility had not been strictly hampered or monitored.
The chief executive of the country’s central financial district also noted that the restrictive lockdowns only helped at certain points, but ultimately its effectivity rests on proper implementation and people’s discipline.
“If you undergo ECQ but there’s still mass transportation, there’s still mobility, there’s still a lot of people going out, then it’s not going to work,” Binay said in an interview with INQUIRER.net for INQside Look, which premiered Saturday.
Binay said that the key to halt the spread of the coronavirus without the lockdown is to not leave their residences when experiencing symptoms.
“Sa’kin, pwede naman kasi self-discipline. It doesn’t have to be imposed by the government. If you don’t feel well, you have any symptoms, don’t go out,” the mayor further said.
(For me, self-discipline will do. It doesn’t have to be imposed by the government. If you don’t feel well, you have any symptoms, don’t go out.)
There would have been no need for an ECQ or lockdown if people knew how to take precautionary measures against COVID-19, Binay further said.
“If we’re going to start with ourselves, observing minimum protocols without the government even looking, without the government even having to impose it, there’s really no need for an ECQ,” she said.
Binay further said that the people should learn to live with COVID-19, as the pandemic is far from over.
“We tried to keep on stopping our daily routine because of the virus. But, at a certain point, we have to live with it because I believe it’s not going to end anytime soon,” she expressed.
Businessmen and even the Department of Trade and Industry have expressed objection to lockdowns, saying it hampered the flow of business, which would also eventually affect the government’s response to the pandemic if resources from taxes would remain low.
The government’s efforts to jumpstart the economy had been set back with the unsteady supply of the COVID-19 vaccines and the onslaught of the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus that prompted the imposition of the ECQ last August.