Final decision still rests on IATF, MMC chair says
(Eagle News) — Metro Manila mayors are eyeing another 15-day extension of the enhanced community quarantine in the National Capital Region.
This is according to Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, who is also the chair of the Metro Manila Council, the policy-making body of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
The MMC is composed of the mayors of the cities and municipalities within NCR.
In a television interview on Friday, May 8, Olivarez, however, noted that the final decision still rests on the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Earlier, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, a member of the IATF, said some areas in NCR may be placed under a general community quarantine after the lifting of the first ECQ extension on May 15.
According to Olivarez, Metro mayors favor the second extension to June 15, though, fearing a second wave of COVID-19 infections, and noting that cities and municipalities in Metro Manila are very interconnected.
“Tulad sa amin sa Paranaque, meron kaming mga residente na nagtatrabaho sa Makati. Kung ang Makati ay GCQ (general community quarantine), kami ay ECQ, pano sila makakalagpas papunta dun sa boundary namin?” Olivarez asked.
He said the MMC may formalize the recommendation through a resolution to be passed on Saturday.
President Rodrigo Duterte has extended the ECQ in select areas, including in Metro Manila, to May 15.
Legazpi, Bacolod and Zamboanga cities were later included in the list of ECQ areas after they appealed for inclusion.