ECQ is proof gov't failed in its COVID-19 response –solon

Placing the National Capital Region (NCR) and neighboring provinces under the stricter enhanced community quarantine anew is an admission from the Duterte Administration that its COVID-19 response failed, a lawmaker said Saturday.

"Placing these areas again under ECQ is a tacit admission by the administration na pumalpak ito; that it bungled big time the Covid pandemic crisis,” House Deputy Minority Leader Isagani Zarate said in a statement.

“It is proof, too, of its calamitous failure to listen to the health experts early on," he added.

The NCR, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal will be placed anew under ECQ starting Monday, March 29 at 12:01 a.m. until Sunday, April 4.

The Bayan Muna Representative said implementing the ECQ without free mass testing, aggressive contact tracing, effective and timely isolation and treatment, as well as a speedy vaccination rollout would be repeating the “same militarist, inefficient and highly ineffective lockdowns.”

Apart from this, Zarate said healthcare workers should immediately receive their salaries and benefits while assistance should be given to affected residents.

“The Duterte administration should replace now the composition of the IATF or abolish it entirely. They had more than a year to make this right but they gravely failed,” Zarate said.

"They should stop toying, even clowning, with the lives of Filipinos," he added.

Food, shelter guarantees

Meanwhile, Albay Representative Joey Salceda said that lockdowns should only be implemented provided that they will make an impact on the number of COVID-19 cases.

“Lockdowns that paralyze livelihoods should come with the guarantee that those who will suffer greatly for them will be fed and sheltered by government,” Salceda said in a separate statement.

According to Salceda, the lockdown will only be worth it if the Philippine government used the week to expand the country’s healthcare capacity.

Salceda proposed that ventilators from less densely populated areas may be brought to areas in a critical state such as the NCR.

“Every healthcare worker who needs to go to work during ECQ should get some form of hazard pay soon – not subject to bureaucratic processing months after. We need to complete administering the vaccine supplies available,” he said.

The lawmaker also expressed frustration amid reports of COVID-19 cases from government offices. Due to this, Salceda urged authorities to rationalize rules on government work, leading to a lower workforce.

He also urged the Inter-Agency Task Force to inform Congress about their plans, saying the hearings do not have to be public.

“We just want to help. We allowed the IATF to perform even duties commonly performed by Congress. It is fair to require them to at least let us know what they are doing with the powers we delegated,” he said.

Meanwhile, he proposed a mobilized telemedicine facility for non-hospitalized COVID-19 cases, non-COVID cases, and mental health.

He also urged the government to convene the media, private, sector, and mental health sector to address the mental health of Filipinos.

“What we see from international experience is that this may be the last big wave before an ambitious vaccination plan prevents new large-scale surges. So, vaccination is key,” he said.

“We must also share and adopt best practices on treatment. This is crucial now and will be key to a post-pandemic normal. I assure the country my office will not stop working to get us through this challenge,” he added. — DVM, GMA News