Opposition Senator Francis ‘’Kiko’’ Pangilinan on Friday said the country needs science-based public health solutions not ineffective militaristic, authoritarian edicts.
Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party (LP), issued the statement when queried by Senate reporters on whether he favors a planned reimposition of curfews to reduce coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections.
‘’No, I am not. As we have seen this past year since the first lockdown last March 2020, that the restriction of movement including checkpoints, arrests of quarantine violators are all ineffective without the needed nationwide testing, contact tracing and isolation,’’ he said.
‘’What we need are the caring hands of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers not the iron fists of the PNP (Philippine National Police),’’ he added.
Pangilinan said it would take more than the ‘’newly-imposed uniform curfew’’ in Metro Manila and the presence of the police to rein in the coronavirus infection that is on the rise anew..
The Metro Manila Council recently announced that it would impose a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew in the capital region starting March 15 in an effort to control the spread of the infection. Police personnel are being eyed to patrol communities again to enforce health protocols.
The PNP has also warned against making public displays of affection as it could spread the virus. Pangilinan said the year-long government experience with COVID-19 control should inform the next steps, including the vaccine roll-out.
“Today feels like March 2020 all over again, with the spike in covid cases and the slow vaccine roll-out,” Pangilinan said.
‘’Has the much-touted 10 million tests by the first of quarter of 2021 been achieved? What’s our data on contact tracing? Has it been effective? How is our vaccine procurement, delivery, and administration going?” he asked.
According to Malacañang, the Philippines has vaccinated at least 114,000 people out of its 70 million target this year.
To reach its target, the Philippines would need to vaccinate nearly 229,000 people a day until end of year 2021, Pangilinan said quoting Edson Guido of the ABS-CBN Data Analytics Team.
As of March 11, the country posted 3,749 new cases for a total of 607,048. A total of 12,608 have died of COVID-19.