Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo said that a decision on community quarantines should be based on the number of COVID-19 in the country.
Robredo said on her radio show aired Sunday that controlling community quarantines should be based on data and not on the decision of local government officials or agency.
“Sa akin sana base siya sa datos. Hindi siya nakabase sa desisyon ng mayor, hindi siya nakabase sa desisyon ng kung anong ahensya… Kapag ganito, kapag nakabase siya sa desisyon ng isang tao, nagtatalo-talo,” she said.
“Baguhin iyong manner, iyong proseso ng pagdedesisyon. Para sa akin, mag-ano na lang tayo, ‘ECQ tayo kapag ganito iyong numero, GCQ kapag ganito iyong numero.’ Para hindi siya naiiwan sa discretion ng kung sino. Kasi ito naman iyong aral natin galing sa ibang bansa: na datos talaga iyong basehan. So sana ganoon,” she added.
Metro Manila and nearby areas are still under the general community quarantine until September 30. The 17 mayors convened Sunday night to deliberate on whether to maintain the GCQ or shift the capital region to modified GCQ.
At least four mayors in Metro Manila favored GCQ extension in the national capital region to sustain the downtrend of COVID-19 cases.
Robredo: Decision on community quarantines must be data-based
As of September 27, 2020, the Department of Health reported the total number of COVID-19 cases at 304,226. Of the confirmed cases, 46,372 (15.2%) are active cases, 252,510 (83.0%) have recovered and 5,344 (1.8%) have died.
Robredo said the Philippines should adopt similar COVID-19 efforts overseas, where community quarantines are based on the number of cases recorded.
“Iyong IATF iyong mag-decide ano ba iyong threshold level, ‘di ba? Ano ba iyong threshold level, para kapag ganito— Halimbawa, puwedeng hindi buong Metro Manila. Puwedeng iyong mga matataas lang na mga transmission,” she said.
“Gaya nito, DTI gusto nang bumukas. DOH ayaw pa. May lumabas na study galing sa UP experts, na sinasabi nila, totoong bumubuti na tayo, pero huwag tayong mag-MGCQ,” she said.
The OCTA team said on its latest report that the untimely downgrade of GCQ in the national capital region could increase the risk of a spike in infections in December.