Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday shared five suggestions the government are capable of doing once Metro Manila goes under its strictest lockdown.
“Narinig po natin ‘yung sinabi ng Palasyo na gustong maging “last ever lockdown” itong paparating na ECQ sa NCR. Para marating ‘yung goal na ‘yun, kailangang tingnan ang lockdown bilang stopgap measure lang. Hindi ito gagana kung lahat ng ibang pandemic measures naka-status quo lang,” the Vice President asserted.
(We heard that the Palace wants this upcoming ECQ in NCR to be the “last ever lockdown”. To attain this goal, it is a must to see this lockdown only as a stopgap measure. This will not be effective if all other pandemic measures are just status quo.)
Pusuant to the agreement made by Metro Manila’s mayors, NCR will be placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) again from August 6 to 20, in hope to prevent the potential threat of the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant.
Believing that the stringent lockdown has to be more effective this time, Robredo divulged her proposals as follow:
• Increase the amount of daily CoVid-19 tests from 50,000 to at least 120,000 to identify places deemed essential for priority;
• Utilize a central contact tracing app to unify the database and for convenience;
• Hire more health workers, assure the sufficient supplies of medicine and oxygen, and remain vigilant towards exploiters;
• Increase vaccine inoculation to 750,000 daily for faster reach of herd immunity; and
• Ensure faster distribution of financial assistance to help small businesses and give aid for affected families.
The Vice President believes that the aforementioned steps are best fit to immediately achieve the last lockdown in Metro Manila.
“Lahat ito puwede nang gawin, puwede nang trabahuhin, para maabot ‘yung pangarap na maging last lockdown na ito,” Robredo stated.
(All of these are doable and can now be worked out to reach our target that this would be the last lockdown.)
“As always, willing tayong tumulong sa anumang paraan para maabot ang mga layunin natin na makaraos na sa pandemya,” she added.
(As always, we are willing to help to obtain our goals of overcoming this pandemic.)