Pangilinan: Travelers from China should go straight to Malacañang if ban not heeded

MANILA, Philippines — Travelers coming from China should go straight to Malacañang from the airport if the government still sees no need to impose a travel ban, Senator Francis Pangilinan said.

“Kung sa tingin ng gobyerno na ligtas ang ating mga kababayan at hindi kailangan ng travel ban sa mga galing ng China dapat mula airport derecho silang lahat sa Malakanyan,” the senator said on his Facebook account Thursday night.

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Pangilinan made the remark as he called anew for the imposition of a travel ban on visitors coming from the capital city of Wuhan in Hubei province as well as in other areas in China where the novel coronavirus has spread, including Hong Kong.

“Unahin ang kapakanan at kaligtasan ng mamamayang Pilipino. Magsagawa na ng massive information drive kung paano ito maiiwasan at paano magpapagaling ang nahawahan,” the senator said in a separate statement.

“Mag-setup ng mga hotline at emergency unit na magsasagawa ng mga quarantine at iba pang mga aksyon para maiwasan ang pagkalat ng sakit,” he added.

Pangilinan further pointed out the unequal treatment for Filipino and Chinese travelers, noting that the Department of Health (DOH) said it would quarantine Filipinos returning from China.

He, meanwhile, noted that even Chinese authorities have suspended air and rail travel in the area around Wuhan and have since expanded the travel ban to 16 surrounding cities with a combined population of more than 50 million people.

Malaysia has suspended the issuance of visas for Chinese citizens from Wuhan and the areas around Hubei province to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the senator added.

He also said that the US State Department has issued a travel advisory to “reconsider travel to China due to novel coronavirus,” while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued warnings Level 3 (avoid all nonessential travel to China) and Level 4 (do not travel to Hubei province, China).

“Kailangan nating pangalagaan ang mga kapwa Pilipino. Hindi biro ang sakit na ito. At hindi rin biro ang magkasakit sa Pilipinas,” Pangilinan said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, earlier, said that he was not inclined to order a ban on Chinese tourists.

A day after the President’s pronouncement, the DOH confirmed the first case of novel coronavirus in the Philippines.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said a 38-year-old Chinese woman, who arrived in the Philippines via a flight from Hong Kong last week, tested positive for novel coronavirus, which first broke out in the capital city of Wuhan in Hubei province.