House on lockdown amid Omicron threat

Batasang Pambansa. (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives (HOR) has been placed on lockdown as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to pose a threat to the country, Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza said Tuesday.

Mendoza said the House, also known as Batasan Pambansa located in Quezon City, will be on lockdown until next week.

“The HOR is currently under lockdown to prevent the spread of Omicron to ensure the safety of our members, secretariat, and employees. We will resume operations next week,” Mendoza said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.

The House is currently on break and session will resume on January 17.

While the lower chamber is on break, committees are still allowed to hold online meetings.

Due to the rising cases of COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday announced the Philippines is once again classified as “high risk” for COVID-19.

Metro Manila was also placed under high risk classification.

RELATED STORIES:

PH back at ‘high risk’ for COVID-19 

PH logs 4,084 new COVID-19 cases; positivity rate hits 20%

JPV