Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque has asked for the understanding of business owners and all those who may have been affected by the sudden decision to keep Metro Manila under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) as he agreed that there should be no flip-flopping when it comes to coronavirus (COVID-19) policies.
Roque made the statement after business owners decried the sudden announcement that Metro Manila will no longer be placed under the general community quarantine (GCQ) as announced early this week.
In his press briefing on Friday, September 10, Roque asked for the public's understanding as the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases continued discussions on the best course of action to take as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country continues to increase.
"All I can say is that the debates are continuing and we're aiming to provide the best alternative to a hard lockdown," he said.
"So hindi po madaling proseso yun. Humihingi po kami ng pag-intindi galing sa publiko (So this is not an easy process. We ask for the public's understanding)," he added.
He assured business owners that the closure of certain establishments will not last long.
"Ito'y panandalian lang po habang dinedebate po ngayon kung pwede na magbukas ang mga restaurants (This is only temporary while the debate to allow restaurants to reopen is ongoing)," he said.
Roque connected it to his recent outburst during a recent IATF meeting where he said he got emotional because of the plight of hungry Filipinos.
"Nagwala na nga ako kasi feeling ko hindi naririnig ang taumbayan minsan. Nalulunod sa boses ng ilang mga tao, gaya ng ilang mga doctor (I had an outburst because I felt the ordinary people are not being heard sometimes. Their voices are drowned by those of other people like some doctors)," he said.
He added that he will now be the voice of the people suffering from the effects of the pandemic.
"So 'wag kayong mag-alala. Sinimulan ko na po 'yan, ipagpapatuloy ko na rin po 'yan (Do not worry. I already started it anyway so I will continue it)," he said.
"Alam ko po hindi dapat nagfi-flip-flop dahil kinakailangan ng (I know that we shouldn't flip-flop on our decisions because there has to be)predictability. And I assure you, I will be their voice from now on, as far as that is concerned," he added.
The IATF has recently "provisionally approved" the guidelines on the pilot implementation of the new alert levels system in the National Capital Region (NCR) that is targeted to be implemented from September 16 to 30, 2021.