If he would have his way, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III would not extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) beyond Aug. 20.
"Frankly my personal position would be to give a break to our workers. Kung ituloy natin yang ECQ na yan, baka hindi na kayanin ng ating workers (If we extend this ECQ, our workers may not be able to survive it)," Bello said in a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, Aug, 18.
"Kung walang business, walang economy. Kung walang workers, paano gagalaw ang negosyo? (If there is no business, there is no economy. If there are no workers, how will businesses function?)" asked Bello.
With his statement, Bello essentially took the same position as Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez on the talks on whether or not to extend the current ECQ.
The two secretaries are part of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
The DOLE chief further said that he believes the problem brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is more about compliance with minimum health and safety protocols.
At any rate, Bello said he would listen to the health experts' opinion in future IATF meetings when the time to decide on the quarantine protocol comes.
Metro Manila and some other parts of the country were placed under ECQ--the strictest quarantine level possible--last Aug. 6 as a way to halt the spread of the more dangerous Delta variant of COVID-19. The lockdown was supposed to last only two weeks.