Senators weigh in on possible extension of Luzon quarantine

FILE: Barangay Public Safety Officers (BPSO) of Barangay Kaligayahan in Novaliches, Quezon City close the road at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Jordan Plains and only allow those who have emergency purposes during curfew hours on Thursday (March 19, 2020). (PNA photo by Oliver Marquez)

MANILA – Several senators on Friday expressed their views on the possible extension of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon until April 12 to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said based on his review and consultation, he is in favor of extending the current ECQ to April 30.

“We are only beginning to see data of symptoms post-quarantine. And I see some data that shows it is effective. But too early to tell. An extra two weeks would help,” he said in a statement sent to media.

He, however, said the government must ensure food supply and movement of essential goods and services during the two-week extension.

Drilon said the government can consider relaxing ECQ from May 1 to May 30, but “still no travel to/from Luzon, no malls, churches and other mass gatherings.

What is essential, he said, is more jobs and livelihood as well as access to food and supplies.

“Hence, open to more manufacturing – especially food, but also non-food and supply chain – and critical construction like power plants and infrastructure. This way, more people have income. To facilitate this, open some public transportation, but not jeepneys, only those where you can practice social distance like the LRT and buses,” Drilon said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said he is also in favor of extending the ECQ by two weeks.

“With the announcement by Chief Implementer Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. that mass testing will only start on April 14, which is still 11 days from now, we are left with no other choice but to extend the ECQ by at least two weeks,” he said in a separate statement.

He said mass testing of patients under monitoring and persons under investigation is the only way to determine if the country is winning the war against Covid-19 or not.

“Without mass testing, we are totally blind. And when we are blind, the risk is higher of spreading the virus again, thereby wasting the 30-day EQC,” Gatchalian said.

On the other hand, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said relaxing the Luzon ECQ will depend on how fast the government can reduce the transmission rate of Covid-19.

Like Gatchalian, he said the government should work faster by mass testing all PUIs and PUMs, as well as those who may have symptoms to isolate or quarantine those positive to stop the transmission of the virus.

“Likewise, do mass treatment of the sick and determine from public health scientists when the infection rate is manageable. Only then can you transition to relaxing ECQ. How long? It depends on how fast the government does its work and be ahead of the virus,” Recto said in a separate message.

He also agreed that the food supply chain and all other essential goods and services should be unhampered in case there is an ECQ extension.

For Senator Panfilo Lacson, “data” is the key for policymakers to make the right decisions at this critical time.

“It is a most difficult decision to strike a balance between flattening the curve of Covid-19 and the looming economic recession due to a wide swath of business inactivity. Thus, it is better left to those who have almost unlimited access to all the relevant data to decide which is the best course of action to take moving forward,” he said.

Lacson said Congress can also help in the policy direction if it is provided with all those data.

Senator Francis Tolentino also said extending the ECQ should have an “empirical basis,” taking into consideration the health of the individual members of society as well as that of the economy.

“I leave that decision to the President, however, we should have an economic stimulus law to resuscitate the economy in the long term which is likewise a job of Congress,” Tolentino said.