SONA 2020

Duterte urges lessors: Now it's time to be fair, compassionate

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday urged lessors to be "fair and compassionate" to their tenants, including small businesses that had to shut down because of the COVID-19 lockdown.

"Nananawagan po ako sa ating mga lessors... malasakit at bayanihan po sana ang pairalin natin ngayon. This is not the time to drive away lessees," Duterte said in his fifth State of the Nation Address.

"During normal times they were the primary source of your income stream. Now it's time to be fair and compassionate; come up with an amenable arrangement with your tenants. 'Wag po natin silang pagtabuyan, tanggalin ang tubig, kuryente at bubong," he added.

The President also said he is requesting commercial establishments to give grace periods to their tenants to allow the deferment of payments, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises that were forced to close down during the quarantine period.

"Let us help them recover," he said.

Duterte previously called on landlords to temporarily stop collecting rent from their tenants, citing reports of people being kicked out of their homes because they failed to pay rent.

“Nagmamakaawa ako sa inyo, ‘wag ninyong pilitin ang mga tao… kasi talagang mageengkwentro tayo. Hindi talaga ako papayag. ‘Wag niyo akong pilitin to go against the law,” he said in April. — DVM, GMA News