Año: IATF to send Luzon quarantine proposals to Duterte by April 25

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Sunday said the Inter-Agency Task Force is set to send to President Rodrigo Duterte the recommendations on the enhanced community quarantine by April 25.

“We are thinking of coming up with a recommendation to the president maybe on the 25th,” he said in an interview on ANC.

“Of course it would be the president who shall decide whether the enhanced community quarantine will be lifted, or modified or partially lifted or even extended,” he added.

According to him, epidemiologists, scientists, mathematicians, and other professionals will present to the IATF on Monday, and their inputs will have a bearing  on task force's decision about the Luzon-wide quarantine. 

“(Duterte) said that he wanted to impose it like, a martial law, but we are not going to implement that, actually you know in the whole country. But on those severely affected areas, we may do that,” he said

“…Like a martial law style in those areas where there are rampant violations of the lockdown,” he added.

Duterte on Thursday ordered the military and the police to be ready to enforce social distancing and curfew in the country if people still ignore the rules of the enhanced community quarantine.

“What we mean to say (of martial law-like is) more presence, additional presence of uniformed personnel and really of course with the help of local govt officials,” Año said.

Also, he pointed out that the IATF wants a stricter implementation of the enhanced quarantine to make the public “aware on the dangers of this problem.” —Joviland Rita/LBG, GMA News