Takeover of hotels for use as quarantine facilities 'drastic' —Hontiveros

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday said it is unnecessary for the government to make “drastic” steps such as taking over hotels to add more quarantine facilities for COVID-19 patients.

“Kahit si presidente na-realize niya, in his own words, that is not a remedy. At hindi natin kakailanganin yung ganyang klaseng mga drastic steps kung sa simula palang isinasaayos natin, tuloy-tuloy, yung ating mga health facilities,” Hontiveros said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

(Even the president realized that it is not a remedy. We don't need to do those kinds of drastic steps if the government has properly established these health facilities from the start.)

She mentioned that Congress has appropriated P9 billion for the construction of temporary isolation and treatment facilities under the Bayanihan To Recover As One Act or Bayanihan 2.

Hontiveros emphasized anew the need for “evidence-based true responses to a COVID-19 pandemic” instead of “male-fisted” approaches to prevent further transmission of the virus and to revive the country’s economy.

In a public briefing Thursday night, Duterte said he can order authorities to take over hotels to ensure there are enough facilities for patients infected with COVID-19, “but that is not a remedy desired in a democratic state.”

Hontiveros also lamented Duterte's alleged inaction on calls to overhaul the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

The lawmaker reiterated that the majority of the task force members should be health experts to provide proper health responses to the pandemic.

“Hindi yung isang military expert-led na IATF ang makakadeliver ng isang effective health response sa crisis na ito. It's almost to be expected but it is still very saddening, and alarming, na ayaw pa rin ito tignan ni presidente,” she said.

(A military expert-led IATF can't deliver an effective health response to this crisis.)

The Philippines has so far recorded a total of 904,285 cases of COVID-19 including 183,527 active cases, 705,164 recoveries and 15,594 deaths. --KBK, GMA News