By Fernan Angeles
GIVEN the power to decide, Metro Manila mayors would rather retain general community quarantine classification in the region, says Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, who claims to have talked to most of them.
At the inauguration of a mega-complex facility in Taguig City, Año also hinted on a scheduled consultation with the 17 local chief executives from the National Capital Region on Sunday.
“Ang masasabi ko lang maraming mayors natin sa NCR ang talagang gusto pa rin mag-GCQ,” averred Año who went on to say: “Doon namin tatalakayin ‘yan, papakinggan natin kung ano ‘yung recommendation ng buong Metro Manila Council, kung ano ang kanilang magiging recommendation tapos ikukumpara natin sa data analytics at doon mabubuo natin kung ano ang ire-recommend natin sa Pangulo,” Año explained.
“Siyempre ang pinaka-number one concern talaga ng ating mga mayors ay kaligtasan ng kanilang constituents,” he added.
Earlier, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said Metro Manila could be placed under modified GCQ after September 30 as this would open more industries to revive the economy.
Dr. Antonio Dans, convenor of Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19, has said the decision-making about the quarantine status should not only be based on economic factors.
So far, the Philippines has 296,755 COVID-19 infections, with 231,928 recoveries and 5,127 deaths.