By Jean Fernando Metro Manila Council chairman and Paranaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez expressed confidence that the government will support the call of ten out of 17 chief executives to extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the metropolis until May 30. Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez (Mayor Edwin Olivarez FACEBOOK / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) Olivarez informed the members of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases, which manages the country’s COVID-19 strategies, that the possibility of relaxing the lockdown rules in some Metro Manila cities while some cities remain under strict quarantine, is not an option. “We cannot have one city under ECQ, while another is under GCQ. That would be complicated. If there is an ECQ, every city should be placed under ECQ,” Olivarez reiterated his earlier pronouncement. As an example the Mayor said that Las Piñas, which is preparing for general community quarantine (GCQ) on May 16, has residents are working in Paranaque, which is are under ECQ. He said, “How would they get through the boundaries and check points”. “Definitely hindi makakapasok sa Paranaque ang mga workers na galing sa cities under GCQ dahil magka-iba ang mga COVID protocols ng bawat lungsod,” (Definitely workers coming from other cities which is already under GCQ cannot enter Paranaque because of our different COVID protocols) the mayor pointed out, adding that “definitely will protect our constituents sa COVID virus”. “We will enforce to the fullest the ECQ protocols of our city,” he added. GCQ is a more relaxed form of community quarantine. Areas deemed by the task force as at "low" or "moderate" risk for an outbreak are under GCQ. It was learned that the cities of Las Piñas and Makati prefer GCQ together with Malabon, Quezon City, and Manila. Both Quezon City and Manila continue to have the highest number of COIVD cases out of all Metro Manila cities. The cities of Navotas, Mandaluyong, Valenzuela, San Juan, Pasay, Pasig, Taguig, and Caloocan and the municipality have asked for an ECQ extension, fearing a surge of positive cases if the lockdown is lifted too soon. During the urgent MMC meeting last Saturday, the mayors disclosed that the first option of was to extend the ECQ until May 30. The second was the ‘softer’ GCQ, and the third was a “modified” GCQ where local executives would be authorized to lock down certain barangays when necessary. Olivarez said that while there had been major improvements under the two-month ECQ, “we still haven’t flattened the curve,” he said. “What we’re really afraid of is a more severe second wave if we fail to isolate COVID-19 patients,” said Olivarez, Citing the latest report of the World Health Organization (WHO), Olivarez said that most of the COVID-19-related deaths reported are from Luzon, with Metro Manila having the greatest number of fatalities at 71.8%, followed by Calabarzon at 12.3 percent, and Central Luzon at 4.1 percent. Olivarez added that once the IATF makes the final decision on which scenario it will choose, the Metro Manila mayors will respect it.