Dr. Jun Ynares
As we go to press, President Duterte and the Cabinet are set to meet and discuss proposals from the country’s economic managers to put the entire country under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) status starting the first of March this year.
This follows days of intense debate played out in media. It was further fueled by an announcement by the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Diseases (IATF) that it was set to allow movie houses to open for business – a move strongly opposed by a number of local government officials including some mayors of Metro Manila.
The Philippine government must go slowly in shifting General Community Quarantine (GCG) to the slightly strict Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) by early March, Senator Edgardo ‘’Sonny’’ M. Angara said on Saturday, February 20.
San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said he was “surprised” by the result of the voting among Metro Manila mayors on whether to shift from the stricter General Community Quarantine (GCQ) to the more relaxed Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto (Pasig Public Information Office/ MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
“Whether you call it GCQ or MGCQ, for now, we will have cinemas remain closed,” Sotto said in an interview on CNN Philippines’ The Final Word.
This was his response after the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) authorized the operation of cinemas and gaming arcades amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The mayor also said that he acknowledges the need for the gradual opening of the economy, but the local government must also maintain and protect its gains in fighting the dreaded virus.
The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) approved the proposal to place the entire country under MGCQ by March. President Duterte has yet to decide on the matter.
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