MANILA, Philippines — The recommendation made by the mayors of Metro Manila to place the region under COVID-19 Alert Level 1 is not election-related, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) officer-in-charge chairman Romando Artes said Wednesday.
Artes said the recommendation was based on data showing the decreasing number of COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“Wala namang kaugnayan ito. Ang basehan lamang ng mga Metro Manila mayors dito ay yung datos na nakukuha namin sa Department of Health (DOH)-NCR na nagpapakita na bumababa naman ‘yung kaso natin,” Artes said in a press briefing.
(It’s not related to the elections. The basis of the Metro Manila mayors for this recommendation is the data we receive from the DOH-NCR which show that the cases are on a decline.)
“Ayon sa matrix ng DOH, IATF, talaga pong qualified na yung NCR para sa Alert Level 1 status. Wala pong kinalaman ang eleksyon dito,” he added.
(According to the matrix of the DOH and IATF, the NCR is now qualified to be placed under Alert Level 1 status. The election has nothing to do with this.)
The campaign period for those seeking national posts began on February 8. Meanwhile, the campaign period for those seeking local posts will start on March 25.
The Commission on Elections has set in place rules for the observance of minimum public health standards during the campaign period.
Artes said that all 17 Metro Manila mayors unanimously voted to recommend that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases place the NCR under Alert Level 1.
This was also confirmed by Metro Manila Council (MMC) Chairman and Paranaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez. The MMC which is composed of all the mayors of Metro Manila, is the policy-making body of the MMDA.