Malacañang reminded the public to always follow coronavirus (COVID-19) protocols, especially on mass gatherings, if they do not want to see the Philippines suffering the same fate as India.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after Caloocan Mayor Oscal Malapitan ordered the closure of a resort after its continued operations were discovered despite the city being under the modified enhanced community quarantine.
In his press briefing on Monday, Roque said the Palace understood that people probably wanted to relieve themselves from the summer heat, but reminded them to always follow health protocols.
"Naiintindihan natin na mainit ang panahon at marami ang sabik maligo, lumangoy, at magpalamig ngunit hindi naman ito dapat maging dahilan para hindi natin sundin ang guidelines (We understand that it is hot now and a lot of people want to swim and cool off but this should not be an excuse to not follow the guidelines)," he said.
"Inuulit ko po, bawal pa po ang pagtitipon-tipon (I repeat, mass gatherings are prohibited)," he added.
Roque appealed to the public to follow health protocols if they do not want the Philippines to experience what India was going through.
"Ganito ang nangyari sa India, 'wag nating hayaang mangyari ito sa mahal nating bayan (This is what happened to India. Let us not allow that to happen in our beloved country)," he said.
"May nakita rin po tayong ganyang pagtitipon-tipon doon sa India, noong sila ay naligo--hindi ko ba alam, parang ilog iyon (We also saw some gatherings in India when they bathed in--I don't know if that's a river)," he added.
"Disaster po. Sana po kung nais natin maiwasan ang disaster na nangyari sa India, huwag po natin gayahin (It's a disaster. If we want to avoid the disaster that happened to India, let us not copy them)," he continued.
India has been suffering a deadly surge of COVID-19 cases, prompting the Philippines to close its borders to the said country.
Meanwhile, Roque recognized the efforts of the local government of the City of Caloocan to address the issue, saying it was up to them to deal with violators.
"Sinabi na po ni Mayor Along na paiimbestigahan niya ito at parurusahan niya at parang pinasarado na nga niya ang resort na 'yan (Mayor Malapitan said that he will have this investigated and punished. I believe he already ordered the closure of that resort)," he said.
"Nakita naman po natin na umakto naman po ang lokal na pamahalaan ng Caloocan noong napagbigay-alam sa kanila ang pangyayaring ito (We saw that the Caloocan government acted on it when they were informed of the situation)," he added.