Duterte should make decisions on quarantine classifications without pressure — Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte should be given the freedom to decide on the community quarantine classifications that will be implemented across the country without public pressure, Malacañang said Wednesday.

Speaking to CNN-Philippines, Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque reiterated his appeal to the OCTA research group to keep their quarantine recommendations private.

“It was an appeal to them that the President should be given the leeway to decide, to make the correct decisions without being influenced by public opinion,” he said.

“Of course, you generate public opinion if you publicly make known your recommendations. Of course, we cannot stop them but it was an appeal to them after I express our appreciation for what they have done.”

OCTA research team member Guido David said on Tuesday night that they considered their policy recommendations as a form of public service, adding they were not being paid by the government to do it.

Duterte often makes his decisions on the country’s COVID-19 response, including the imposition of a sweeping lockdown, based on the inputs of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), which is headed by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

Roque made the appeal after the experts urged the government to consider reimposing a stricter quarantine classification or implementing localized lockdowns in Bauan in Batangas, Calbayog in Western Samar, and General Trias in Cavite due to the continued rise in infections.

The Palace official added the provincial governors have the power to implement localized lockdowns in consultation with the regional inter-agency task force on COVID-19 response. — RSJ, GMA News