LAWMAKERS on Thursday took exception to the government regulation that restricts senior citizens in the workforce to their homes amid the continued rise of novel coronavirus infections in the country, especially in Metro Manila, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.
Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon and Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) should reconsider its decision to continue restricting individuals below 21 and those 60 years and older to their homes even under a more relaxed general community quarantine (GCQ) setting starting May 1.
Drilon said many incumbent government officials will be affected by the rule, among them five senators, President Duterte and Cabinet secretaries and other government leaders.
Drilon is 74 years old; Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III, 71; Sen. Richard Gordon, 74, and Lito Lapid, 64. President Duterte is 75 years old.
“(Even Health Secretary Francisco) Duque himself should not leave his house under this rule,” Drilon said.
Drilon’s reasoning, however, seems misplaced as under the guidelines of the IATF, senators, congressmen, Cabinet secretaries and other senior government officials are exempted from the stay-at-home regulation since they are included in the list of authorized persons outside of residences (APOR).
Lacson said government officials who recommended the restriction should be re-evaluated by a psychiatrist “before coming out with stupid ideas like this latest one.”
Lacson said restricting the movement of elderly citizens is unacceptable since there are seniors who are far healthier and have stronger immune system than their younger counterparts.
“To indiscriminately prohibit them from going out of their homes is not only arbitrary; it is downright stupid,” Lacson said.
Based on his experience, Lacson said, he can even to his office at the sixth floor of the Senate building using the stairs, without fatigue, compared to his much younger staff.
“The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases may need to rethink this policy such that it does not impose unfair restrictions on seniors, especially those who are physically fit. The dire question is: When will we see other sweeping and irrational moves?” he added.
Senate president pro tempore Ralph Recto, 56, said it does not make sense to limit the movement of senior citizens in the workforce at this time
“Most of our political and business leaders are seniors. They should be allowed to work and be mobile,” Recto said.
SENIOR LAWYERS
At the House of Representatives, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez urged the Supreme Court to reconsider its rule enjoining senior citizen-lawyers not to attend court hearings in provinces under GCQ because of COVID-19.
“This rule discriminates against senior lawyers, whom clients naturally prefer because of their experience from long years of practice. It also runs counter to the constitutional principle that an accused should have a lawyer of his choice,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
In a circular issued last Monday, the SC said judges and court staff members who are senior citizens, especially those who have medical conditions, may go to the courts only “in exceptional circumstances” to act on urgent matters.
Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta has said courts in areas under GCQ can reopen on May 4, with a skeletal staff to assist judges who would only act on matter involving the release or temporary liberty of detainees.
In his issuance, Peralta said lawyers who are more than 59 years old “may attend their hearings on urgent matters, except those suffering from any illness, or who appear sickly and weak.”
“If available, younger lawyers should be sent instead, since their appearances anyway will be limited to urgent matters, and not for trial proper,” the circular states.
Rodriguez said he received numerous messages from fellow lawyers who are protesting the circular, with some sending their complaints directly to Peralta.
He said the lawyers are appealing to the Chief Justice to treat the provision of legal advice to and representation of clients as an “essential service, whether there is ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) or GCQ.”
“They feel this is important, especially in the light of the fact that those abused by the authorities in the implementation of ECG or GCQ need legal advice and representation,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also joined some of his fellow congressmen in opposing the order of the IATF to bar senior citizens from going out of their homes in both ECQ and GCQ areas.
Senior Citizens party-list Rep. Francisco Datol Jr., chair of the House committee on senior citizen’s affairs, said senior citizens should be allowed to go outside as long as they practice social distancing. “We don’t need to completely disallow them from leaving their homes just because of their age,” he said. — With Wendell Vigilia
