Robredo on quarantine: Too much focus on police, military, too little on health

Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday said that efforts in public order and safety are overshadowing the focus on health concerns as the community quarantine came into effect in an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“Ngayon kasi, parang nangingibabaw ulit 'yung public order and safety na dapat sana supportive lang siya sa health concern,” Robredo said in her radio program.

“Sana hindi grabe ‘yung focus sa military, sa kapulisan kasi ito, health concern ito,” she added.

A community quarantine to counter the spread of COVID-19 came into effect over Metro Manila at 12 a.m. Sunday morning. Uniformed personnel have been deployed to man the borders at checkpoints.

Around 200 checkpoints were set up in different regions as the community quarantine in Metro Manila and other areas started. In NCR, around 2,000 police personnel manned the checkpoints.

Aside from the health concern, Robredo also wants to shed light on the other issues tied to COVID-19.

Robredo suggested the creation of a sub-committee in the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) that will focus on sectors that will be affected by the community quarantine.

She said there should members in the task force that will work on the economic and labor issues that resulted from the quarantine measures —Joviland Rita/JST, GMA News