DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Sunday said the improving condition in coronavirus cases in Metro Manila is likely to convince President Duterte to downgrade Metro Manila to general community quarantine (GCQ) status from the current modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
Lorenzana, chair of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19, said the matter will be taken up by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) during its meeting with President Duterte today.
“Indicators (include) new cases is not increasing, death is in the single digits, recoveries increasing. We will observe the trend this week and the IATF will meet to decide… We’ll discuss this at the IATF meeting,” said Lorenzana referring to the reasons Metro Manila may go to GCQ.
Lorenzana said Metro Manila may transition to GCQ on June 1 once the current MECQ lapses on May 31. Aside from Metro Manila, other cities and provinces under MECQ are Laguna, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Pampanga, and Angeles City. The cities of Mandaue and Cebu are under ECQ.
Under GCQ, more essential establishments will be allowed to resume operations, meaning more workers will be allowed to go to work. Also, public transport will be allowed to partially resume under GCQ.
Interior Secretary and NTF Against COVID-19 vice chairman Eduardo Año said Cebu City may remain under ECQ because its doubling rate remains high.
“May mga GCQ tayo sa buong Pilipinas na magiging modified GCQ. Sa modified ECQ marami na tayong papayagan dun, pati ‘yung entertainment industries ay maaring payagan na rin dito sa modified ECQ (There are GCQ areas throughout the country which may go to modified GCQ. Under modified GCQ, we’re allowing more establishments to open, including the entertainment industries),” Año also said.
CRIME RATE
Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP deputy chief for operations and concurrent commander off the Joint Task Force COVID Shield, said crime incidents in Metro Manila and other areas are expected to rise once quarantine levels are relaxed.
Eleazar said the downgrade will mean more people in the streets as more establishments will be authorized to re-open and more workers allowed to go back to work.
Apart from more establishments reopening and more workers going to work, partial operations of public transportation will be allowed.
“Come June, halimbawa naging GCQ na tayo or ibang GCQ naging MGCQ na ay posibleng maaring tumaas ‘yan (Come June, for example we go to GCQ and other GCQ areas become MGCQ, it may increase),” said Eleazar.
Eleazar said the national crime rate has reduced by 60 percent over the past 68 days – from March 17 to May 23 – when various levels of community quarantine took effect.
“In essence, mas maraming tao. Ang sinasabi nga natin, well in essence, mas maraming opportunity na magkaroon ng krimen (In essence, there will be more people outside. What we are saying, well in essence, is there will be more opportunity to commit crime),” he said.
Eleazar said the PNP will sustain checkpoint operations, visibility patrols and the curfews they are doing during the community quarantine period to prevent a significant rise in the crime rate.
