Robredo backs maintaining the Metro Manila GCQ during Christmas

Vice President Leni Robredo said on Sunday that she supported the recommendation of mayors in the National Capital Region to extend the implementation of a general community quarantine (GCQ) throughout the Christmas season.

In her radio program on Sunday, Robredo added that the government should listen to the suggestion of local government officials since they are the most familiar with the situation on the ground.

“Mas dapat pakinggan iyong mga local officials kasi sila iyong nakakaalam kung ano iyong sitwasyon on the ground—hindi puwedeng one-size-fits-all,” Robredo said.

“Iyong mga local officials na palagay nila mataas pa iyong community transmission, para sa akin kailangan silang pakinggan, eh, kasi sila rin iyong mahihirapan kapag hindi sila pinakinggan.”

On Thursday, National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said Metro Manila mayors want the region to remain under GCQ this upcoming holiday season.

He added that mayors were “very cautious” when it came to the option of shifting to a modified GCQ, which was the least restrictive in the government’s four-tier quarantine classification system.

There was a recent uptick in virus cases in Metro Manila, with experts warning against complacency and saying that the disruptions by the recent typhoons may have caused a lag in delivering test results.

On Sunday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said President Rodrigo Duterte would be announcing the new community quarantine classifications in the country on Monday. — DVM, GMA News