Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said experts thought that a different tactic in fighting the coronavirus pandemic was now necessary because the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) risk classification seemed to be no longer working.
Roque made the statement amid the rising cases of coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in different areas in the country despite the implementation of strict protocols, including Metro Manila which was placed under a two-week ECQ.
In an interview with DZRH on Thursday, August 19, Roque said members of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases were not able to reach a "decision of the house" in deciding Metro Manila's new quarantine classification.
He said members of the IATF were divided if they should keep the ECQ because the number of COVID-19 cases has not dropped and the number of deaths seemed to rise.
On the other hand, those who wanted MECQ thought a new tact was needed since ECQ was not working anymore.
“Lumalabas na parang hindi na gumagana ang ECQ sa ating mga kababayan siguro dahil pagod na pagod na sila (It appeared that the ECQ was not working anymore for the people maybe because they were tired already),” Roque said in his radio interview.
“Magugulat ka mga dalubhasa nagsabi na iyon nga po ang posisyon nila na mukhang hindi na gumagana ang ECQ for whatever reason dahil nga naman halos magdadalawang taon na tayo, siguro dapat baguhin ang taktika ‘no (You’ll be surprised that it was the experts who thought that ECQ was not working anymore for whatever reason because we’ve been doing this for almost two years and maybe its time to change tactics),” he added.
On Thursday evening, Roque, who also serves as spokesman for the IATF, announced that the task force has decided to downgrade Metro Manila and Laguna from ECQ to modified ECQ (MECQ) beginning August 21 and place Bataan under MECQ starting August 23.
The new risk classification of the three areas will be effective until the end of the month.
According to Roque, the IATF had to resort to a "secret ballot" to decide on the new quarantine classification for NCR, Laguna, and Bataan.
He declined to disclose the result of the voting.
"Kauna-unahan po na nangyari ito na hindi lang nagkaroon ng decision of the house sa IATF kung hindi nagkaroon pa ng secret balloting (This was the first time that we did not have a decision of the house in the IATF and even had a secret balloting)," he said.
During the MECQ period, indoor and al-fresco dine-in services; and personal care services including beauty salons, beauty parlors, barbershops, and nail spas shall not be allowed in the NCR, Laguna, and Bataan.
Religious gatherings shall also remain virtual in the said areas.
The concerned local government units (LGUs) have been directed to improve their vaccination rates, Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate (PDITR) strategies, and observance and compliance to Minimum Public Health Standards.
On August 19, Malacañang said at least P240 billion would be required to fund the government’s coronavirus response efforts in 2022.
As of August 19, the country has reported 1,791,003 COVID-19 cases with 1,648,402 recoveries and 30,881 deaths. Data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed 111,720 active coronavirus cases.