Mayors agreed not yet time for NCR to be under MGCQ, says Zamora

San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said Metro Manila mayors have agreed that it is not yet time for National Capital Region to shift from general community quarantine (GCQ) to the less stringent modified GCQ (MGCQ).

Zamora said Metro Manila mayors recommended to retain the GCQ status of the region despite the suggestion of Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez to reopen more businesses during a meeting on Monday.

“First and foremost, we are seeing a very sharp decline in the number of positive cases. We don't want any shift in quarantine status to affect this decline,” Zamora said in an interview on ANC on Tuesday.

“We are seeing that the interventions that we in Metro Manila are doing, they are working. We felt that this is not the right time to shift, although Secretary Lopez was pushing for more businesses to reopen,” he added.

Zamora agreed to the suggestion of Lopez to consider both public health and the economy in deciding what quarantine classification should be implemented.

However, he pointed out that Metro Manila mayors can help improve the economy as they have the discretion to expand the allowed capacity of businesses in their respective areas.

To do this, Zamora said shifting to MGCQ is not yet necessary.

On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that Metro Manila will remain under GCQ in October. Also under GCQ are Batangas, Tacloban, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Iligan.

The Philippines has logged 307,288 COVID-19 cases as of Monday afternoon, still the highest across Southeast Asia. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News