Instead of placing Metro Manila again under a stricter quarantine level, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Thursday that the government should just work on increasing the capacity of hospitals to accommodate more COVID-19 patients.
Gatchalian said he does not favor the planned reversion to the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) of the National Capital Region should the number of coronavirus infections in the country exceed the University of the Philippines' (UP) projection of 85,000 cases by the end of July.
He said an MECQ or ECQ set-up will be "very painful" for Filipinos whose jobs and livelihood were already affected by the pandemic.
"Ako mas pabor ako dadagdagan 'yung capacity ng hospitals natin. Masakit sa ating mga kababayan ang ECQ. (I am more in favor of increasing the capacity of our hospitals because the ECQ will just hurt our countrymen). Nakita ko maraming 'yung mga kababayan nating nawalan ng trabaho, lalong magugutom (I have seen that many of our people lost their jobs and that more people are going hungry). Kung mag-ECQ tayo, 'yong mga nagtatrabaho, hindi na naman makakapagtrabaho (If we will implement ECQ, those who have just returned to their jobs will again not be able to work). So, I would rather na i-expand ang hospital capacity natin," Gatchalian said in an online interview with reporters.
The lawmaker said the increasing number of COVID-19 cases could be stemmed by making sure that all patients, from mild to severe cases, are attended to by health professionals to prevent the spread of the virus.
He recommended the establishment of "massive" makeshift or temporary hospitals similar to what was done in China and Spain to also cater to mild COVID-19 patients.
"Ang importante lang naman ngayon ay huwag dumami 'yong mamatay at maalagaang mabuti 'yong mga kritikal at mild cases (What's important is that we prevent the deaths and take care of the critical and mild cases)," he said.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said last Wednesday that there is a possibility of bringing Metro Manila back to MECQ but warned that the "economy could no longer afford to be shut down."
President Duterte initially approved the recommendation of UP to place the region under MECQ from July 16 to 31 but National Task Force chief Carlito Galvez and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año appealed the decision.
As of July 23, COVID-19 infections in the country have reached 74,390 with 48,136 active cases, and 1,871 deaths.