{"id":254903,"date":"2020-05-15T00:58:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T04:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=254903"},"modified":"2020-05-15T00:58:32","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T04:58:32","slug":"gcq-not-mgcq-to-be-implemented-in-low-risk-covid-19-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/05\/15\/gcq-not-mgcq-to-be-implemented-in-low-risk-covid-19-areas\/","title":{"rendered":"GCQ, not MGCQ, to be implemented in low-risk Covid-19 areas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: A Cainta traffic personnel assisted by a policeman uses a thermal scanner to check the temperature of motorists along Felix Avenue in Cainta, Rizal on Monday (March 16, 2020). (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Areas with a low risk of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection will be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) and not “modified” GCQ starting May 16, Malaca\u00f1ang said on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque explained that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) decided to use GCQ instead of MGCQ since the guidelines on the latter are still being finalized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess for simplicity purposes, (let\u2019s stick with) general community quarantine\u00a0muna \u2018no<\/em>\u00a0(first),\u201d Roque said in a virtual presser.<\/p>\n

Roque said Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo A\u00f1o on Wednesday announced that MGCQ will be implemented in low risk areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cPero sa ngayon po, hinihintay pa rin natin iyong<\/em>\u00a0guidelines (but for now, we\u2019re still waiting for the guidelines),\u201d Roque said.<\/p>\n

Under a GCQ, all, except the elderly and youth, are allowed outdoors; public transport with strict safe distancing will be permitted; and government agencies will observe alternative work arrangements such as a four-day work week.<\/p>\n

Roque, meanwhile, said the IATF is still open to all petitions and requests of local officials regarding the type of community quarantine in their respective regions, provinces and cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasta naman po na<\/em>-receive\u00a0ang<\/em>\u00a0appeal\u00a0nila<\/em>\u00a0(As long as we receive their appeal), this would be considered by the IATF,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

By May 16, all areas in the country except Metro Manila, Laguna province, and Cebu City, will be placed under GCQ. The three areas mentioned will be under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).<\/p>\n

Earlier, Roque said local officials may appeal their classification to the IATF Screening and Validation Committee not later than May 13.<\/p>\n

Interzonal movements<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interzonal movements between areas classified as GCQ will be allowed subject to safety protocols by May 16, Roque explained.<\/p>\n

He said those living in areas declared as MECQ but work in areas declared as GCQ will also be allowed to travel as long as they are employed in an industry allowed to operate.<\/p>\n

\u201cAng kailangan lang po nila is<\/em>\u00a0employment ID\u00a0at saka iyong<\/em>\u00a0ID\u00a0na nagpapatunay kung saan sila nakatira<\/em>\u00a0(All they need is an employment ID and an ID showing where they live),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, he reminded that non-essential travels will still require clearance from their respective local government units (LGUs).<\/p>\n

While employers are also encouraged to provide their employees with transport vehicles, Roque said if this setup is not possible, the best decision would be to keep operations closed.<\/p>\n

\u201cKung hindi naman po kaya talaga ng kumpanya na magbigay ng<\/em>\u00a0shuttle\u00a0o kung walang sasakyan iyong kanilang mga empleyado, eh huwag na po munang magbukas dahil mas importante na ma-<\/em>avoid\u00a0po natin, maiwasan iyong<\/em>\u00a0second wave\u00a0na tinatawag<\/em>\u00a0(If a company cannot provide a shuttle or if there are no vehicles for their employees, I suggest that they don\u2019t resume operations because it is more important to avoid a second wave of infection),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a policy decision po, we want to restart the economy but not at the expense of having a second wave,\u201d Roque said.<\/p>\n

No extension for ITR deadline<\/strong><\/p>\n

The government will not extend the June 14 deadline for the filing and payment of annual income tax returns (ITRs) for individuals and corporations, Roque said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKung hindi po tayo magpa-<\/em>file\u00a0ng ating<\/em>\u00a0tax returns,\u00a0wala po tayong pera na papasok sa kaban ng ating gobyerno na gagamitin natin para sa<\/em>\u00a0Covid-19 (If we don\u2019t file our tax returns, there won\u2019t be any funds the government will use to fight Covid-19),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The tax paying public may still opt to file and pay their taxes before the extended deadline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 Areas with a low risk of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection will be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":248996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254903"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254904,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254903\/revisions\/254904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}