Metro Manila to be under GCQ after May 15? Palace says it’s too early to tell

Malacañang on Monday said it’s too early to make a conclusion on the fate of the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila after May 15.

“Ispekulasyon pa po ‘yan. Pang-apat na araw pa lang ng two weeks extension,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a televised briefing.

Roque issued the statement after Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya on Sunday said that Metro Manila could qualify for looser restrictions under the general community quarantine based on available data.

Malaya said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases considers the critical care infrastructure of hospitals and the case doubling time in the region.

“Titignan po natin ang datos. Siyensiya, ekonomiya, ‘yan po ang titignan,” Roque said.

Aside from Metro Manila, the other areas under ECQ are Central Luzon (except Aurora), CALABARZON, Pangasinan, Benguet, Iloilo province, Bacolod City, Iloilo City, Cebu City, Cebu province and Davao City.

The IATF has recommended an extension of the ECQ in Albay province and Zamboanga City but President Rodrigo Duterte has yet to make a decision on the matter.

The task force also authorized Albay to implement the ECQ extension in its capital Legazpi City. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News