'Tama na ang pagiging magulo!' Hontiveros: Filipinos have the right to a 'sensible' gov’t' in fighting COVID-19

Senator Risa Hontiveros / photo courtesy of MSN Philippines

Senator Risa Hontiveros recently made a remark on Friday after President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement to impose “community quarantine” in Metro Manila to contain COVID-19 for a month.

According to her, the government’s announcement was quite “messy” in their plans and stressed that the public deserves more cohesive guidelines on efforts to now pandemic disease that has been threatening the country.

The lady senator said that the Filipinos deserve a government that has a “competent leadership” to marshall the country out of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

The government needs to explain clearly its guidelines on the measures imposed to contain the virus. As fears hound the public due to the pandemic crisis, she mentioned.

“The Filipino people have been expecting a cohesive plan from our leaders. They deserve and need the government to exercise competent leadership in order to shepherd us out of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the government should strive to express clear communication of its policies and guidelines surrounding the containment of this pandemic,” Hontiveros said.

The announcement made some residents in Metro Manila and those in nearby provinces confused since there are no guidelines yet on how it will be implemented. 

“Tama na ang pagiging magulo. The Filipino people have been expecting a cohesive plan from our leaders,” the lady senator added.

“In addition, the government should strive to express clear communication of its policies and guidelines surrounding the containment of this pandemic,” she said.

She recommended the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to immediately release specific guidelines of the community quarantine before it will be implemented in Metro Manila starting this weekend.

“There is a lot to clarify. I urge the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to immediately release specific guidelines and parameters of the community quarantine being imposed in Metro Manila, especially its effects on the daily lives of Filipinos and of those who work within the metro but reside elsewhere,” Hontiveros said.

She said that the scheme will have an impact on the daily lives of Filipinos and of those who work in the National Capital Region (NCR).

“Our public health and local government authorities must be at the helm of this community quarantine, subject to proper parameters and regular review, in order to guide and assure the worried public,” she added.

“At the same time, we must not forget those who are most vulnerable and who have the least among us: the daily wage-earning poor and the loss of jobs that is already following in the wake of this pandemic,” Hontiveros said.

Those who live on a daily wage must not be forgotten amid the virus’ threats, the senator also mentioned.

She asked the National agencies involve like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to extend due assistance to the affected workers.

“I call on the Department of Social Welfare and Development and our local government units to ensure sufficient food supply through local food banks. Dapat may pagkain sa bawat hapag-kainan (There should be food on every table),” Hontiveros said.

“Likewise, I am urging the Department of Labor and Employment to facilitate immediate cash flow to families who will lose their livelihood in the same light due to COVID-19,” she said.

Hontiveros also emphasized the need to sufficiently protect healthcare workers with protective gear and proper compensation.

“I thank our frontline health workers who have been working tirelessly in the name of public health and safety. You are the real heroes and I am thankful for your service to our people,” Hontiveros said.

“In this same line, the protection and welfare of health workers must be prioritized. They must have ample protective gear, compensation, and other forms of support in the conduct of their duties.”

The Philippine government has upgraded the alert on COVID-19 from Code Red Sublevel 1 to Sublevel 2, when the evidence of community transmission and prevalence of cases beyond what the government can manage.

The World Health Organization (WHO) now consider COVID-19 a pandemic, as the new virus is causing sustained outbreaks in multiple regions of the world.