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| President Duterte during his televised address. |
President
Rodrigo Duterte today declared the rest of Luzon under “enhanced community
quarantine” to fight Covid-19 until midnight of April 13, after two days of
Metro-Manila wide lockdown appeared to have failed to prevent crowds
congregating in transportation chokepoints.
The problem
became apparent as early as dawn today, the first Monday of the metrowide
lockdown, when people entering Metro Manila to work crowded main arteries at
boundaries such as the one dividing Valenzuela and Meycauayan, Bulacan. Traffic
queue as long as two kilometers were reported as police and military personnel
checked the temperature of people aboard all vehicles. They also imposed social
distancing rules which require people to be at least a meter from each other,
even inside vehicles.
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| A soldier tries his hand at crowd control as pedestrians line up for temperature and ID checks |
Even within
Metro Manila, social distancing was hardly observed as passengers crowded into
MRT and LRT stations for their ride to work.
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Health
officials have so far reported that 142 people have tested positive for
Covid-19, 12 of whom died and three recovered.
In a
televised address in front of his top officials in Malacanang, the President
also said the government will implement stricter home quarantine, suspend mass transportation, regulate the provision for food and essential health services;
and increase the number of police and soldiers enforcing the quarantine.
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| Public transportation will be suspended as part of the expanded lockdown (PDI photo) |
But he was
quick to explain: “Hindi ito martial law, wag kayong matatakot. Walang
magdidisplay ng baril diyan except ‘yung mga member ng Armed Forces o Pulis.
Ang kalaban natin pag martial law ay yung mga taong sumasalakay at
naghihimagsik pero sa panahong ito ang kalaban natin ay tayo at ang sakit na
COVID-19.”
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Duterte also
assured that food supplies will be sufficient.
“I have been
assured (by) Ramon Ang mismo of San Miguel and the other food conglomerates
that there will be sufficient food. There will be no hunger in the coming weeks
because we have enough supplies,” he said.
The president told barangay captains to ensure
that food reaches the poorest in their communities.
“The barangay captains should call a number
and at least food, rice and some, ano, ulam, puwede niyong ibigay para sa ating
mga kababayan,” Duterte said. “If you violate this, you can be liable for
dereliction of duty.”
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The
president also paid tribute for the first time to the frontline medical staff who had been
battling the disease.
"In due
time,” he said, “we shall express to them our gratitude in a more tangible way,
when this crisis is over. In the meantime, I have directed the DBM [Department
of Budget and Management] and DOH [Department of Health] to find a way to best
compensate our health workers."
Several
concerned individuals and establishments, however, beat him to it by showing their appreciation for healthcare
workers by sending food packs to doctors and nurses in selected hospitals in Metro
Manila. The food packs contained hot meals, cups of coffee, vitamins, and face
masks.
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Vice
President Leni Robredo also began her own project for the medical personnel.
“Gaya ng
pangako natin, sinimulan na natin ngayong araw ang pag-distribute ng unang
batch ng Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Daily Sets sa ating mga health
workers at frontliners na nangunguna sa laban kontra COVID-19. Naglaan ang
ating opisina ng P5.9 million para mabili ang mga ito, dagdag pa sa P8.9
million na nakalap natin sa ating online donation drive sa tulong ng ating
Angat Buhay partner Kaya Natin!,” she said in a message. “Sa kabuoan, nakalikom
na tayo ng higit P14.9 million para sa ating frontliners. Gagamitin natin ito
para makabili ng 31,245 na PPE sets at 5,659 food and care packages para sa
ating mga frontliners at kanilang mga pamilya.”
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| The vans that delivered VP Robredo's PPE donations to health workers and medical staff |
President
Duterte also urged businesses to pitch in, by paying in advance their
employees’ 13-month pay, even on a pro-rate basis. “Yun sanang malalaking
enterprises dito, maybe you can consider paying the 13th month pay or just
paying them maski kalahati sa sweldo nila as a way of showing your solidarity
with the Filipino at this critical time,” he said.
For its
part, San Miguel Corp. saud in a statement it would operate 24/7 to ensure that
the company’s supply chain is stable and enough to provide food for Filipinos
nationwide for the next several months. “We have the capability to produce
enough for everybody and deliver to supermarkets,” said
SMC president Ramon Ang
said. “This isn’t about making profits. We have a responsibility to make sure
that food is made available to as many people as possible.” he added.
Ang added
that other SMC businesses, such as Petron Corp. SMC Global Power Holdings
Corp., and SMC Infrastructure will continue to operate. “We will provide
essential services such as food, water, power, petrol products and beverages to
everyone,” he said.
Jaime
Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO of Ayala Corporation, also assured the
public that “all necessary measures are being implemented to ensure
uninterrupted services in critical areas such as telecommunications, water
distribution in our franchise areas, cash availability and access to our
clinics and generics pharmacies.”
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