By VICTOR REYES and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
CONFUSION will likely mar the implementation of new quarantine guidelines in Metro Manila, Laguna, and Cebu City as these areas transition to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) starting Saturday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said on Thursday.
Año said policemen and local government officials need to adjust to the more relaxed rules which would allow more people going out of their homes, especially workers employed by companies which belong to industries already allowed to partially resume operations in the MECQ setting.
“Well at the start, siyempre medyo dagsaan ang tao diyan, medyo mahihirapan ‘yung pulis, ‘yung LGUs (It will be difficult in the beginning because will start going out of their homes. The policemen and LGUs may have difficulty dealing with the crowds),” said Año.
More commercial establishments have been allowed to operate under the MECQ guidelines approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
Metro Manila, Laguna and Cebu City are the only areas that are under modified ECQ, a downgrade from the current which will lapse midnight of Friday. The rest of the country are either under general community quarantine (GCQ) or modified GCQ (MGCQ).
Quarantine rules become more relaxed as levels go down.
Año said there was a need to relax quarantine regulations even while a vaccine or cure for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has yet to be developed because the government needs to ease the impact of the health crisis to the economy.
“Ngayon naman nakita natin na nag-improve ‘yung ating situation, bumaba ‘yung doubling rate tapos meron tayong isolation facilities, testing capacity, so pwede tayong magbukas (The situation has improved now: the doubling rate has gone down, we have isolation facilities, testing capacity, so we can already reopen),” he said.
DILG undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya said: “We’re trying to strike a balance between the need to re-start the economy and at the same time protect ourselves from COVID-19. That’s our situation now.”
APPEAL
Several cities and provinces have appealed their downgrade to GCQ level and have requested the IATF to instead put them under MECQ regulation starting May 16.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said among those which sent their requests to the IATF were the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga, while Office of the Presidential Adviser for Visayas assistant secretary Jonji Gonzales said the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, both in Cebu, have also appealed their status.
IATF Resolution 35 categorized Bulacan, Pampanga, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City as medium risk and placed them in the GCQ category from May 16 to 31.
Roque said the IATF was monitoring the coronavirus situation in Angeles City, Davao City, Cavite, and Davao de Oro to determine if they will remain in the GCQ level or be included in the modified ECQ. The situation in the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan, Albay and the cities of Dagupan and Legazpi City are also being monitored.
Roque, in a briefing, said he is not sure how many appeals have been sent but the “IATF is entertaining the appeals that were filed.”
Gonzales, during the Laging Handa network briefing, said the local governments of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu feel that it will be easier and faster for local health authorities to complete the mass testing being conducted in the two cities if they were under MECQ.
Gonzales said there were also other Visayan provinces that have expressed concern that their being downgraded to the GCQ category could make residents complacent, which could lead to a second wave of infections.
Roque said the province of Laguna is also appealing their inclusion in the MECQ. Laguna governor Ramil Hernandez said his province has no problem being included in the MECQ but other local officials would like to know why they were classified as high-risk.
Roque said the factors considered in deciding what areas would fall in the different categories are the case doubling rate and speed of transmission of COVID-19, and the critical care capacity of the province or city.
Roque on Tuesday bared the list of cities and provinces that will be under MECQ from May 16 to 31, along with the areas that will be under GCQ, and low risk areas no longer covered by any quarantine regulations. On Wednesday, the quarantine category of low risk areas was upgraded to modified GCQ.
The IATF is expected to release the final classification and categories of all city and provinces during the weekend, along with the updated guidelines for the quarantine levels.
PNP HAZARD PAY
The PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management said some policemen were able to receive the P500 daily COVID-19 hazard pay though they are not entitled.
In a May 8 memorandum, DPRM director Maj. Gen. Reynaldo Biay said the directorate found that “some PNP personnel who are supposedly not entitled to receive the COVID-19 Hazard Pay were included in the master list of eligible PNP personnel to claim CHP.”
Biay did not mention how many non-eligible policemen received the hazard pay.
Not eligible for the hazard pay are police officers who are on schooling and failed to report to their units despite a recall order, those on work from home arrangement, and those who are immune-compromised, such as pregnant cops and those with medical conditions.
“Those PNP personnel who have received the CHP but are found to be not entitled based on the cited conditions are considered to have an overpayment. The said overpayment must be refunded immediately in favor of the PNP,” said Biay.
Biay said those who will not return the money to the PNP will be administratively charged for dishonesty. Charges will likewise be filed against those who included the names of the disqualified cops in the CHP payroll.
