Senators welcome Duterte's travel ban pronouncement
Published Feb 2, 2020 12:00 am
By Hannah Torregoza
Senators on Sunday welcomed President Duterte’s pronouncement of a travel ban from China, Hong Kong and Macau, saying this will help ease the fear of Filipinos now that a second case of a novel coronavirus in the Philippines has been reported by the Department of Health (DOH).
Sen. Risa Hontiveros (Senator Risa Hontiveros / Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Sen. Risa Hontiveros also said she welcomed the development even as the report on the second case of nCoV in the Philippines was undeniably alarming.
“We welcome this pronouncement of the President as a response to lawmakers call to impose a temporary ban from China and the Special Administrative Regions (SAR),” Hontiveros said in an interview over GMANewsTV.
“Of course, safety first for our Filipinos and of course the government should be able to provide assistance to the Filipinos who wish to return home from China,” she said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the measure was “drastic but necessary.”
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan also welcomed the travel ban, but urged health authorities to now track all suspected coronavirus carriers to prevent the spread of the disease.
“We welcome the total travel ban in order to prevent the spread of the disease. How we wish it came much earlier as hundreds of possible carriers have been able to enter the country in the last several days but better late than never,” Pangilinan said.
“Now we can effectively focus our efforts on tracking all those who are suspected of being carriers and work on quarantine and isolation,” said the senator.
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go earlier said the Duterte has ordered the expansion of the temporary travel ban to include travelers coming from any part of China and its special administrative regions to help combat the spread of the disease.
This was confirmed by Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, who said that the President issued the directive that was coursed through Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
“We assure the Filipino people that the directives issued by the President as well as the protocols being implemented as well as succeeding ones are all geared for the safety of our countrymen and will last until the danger of the dreaded disease has ceased,” Panelo said in a statement.
“We reiterate the advice of the DOH to the public to observe strictly the measures undertaken on personal hygiene like regularly washing the hands and wearing surgical masks when going around crowded areas,” the presidential spokesman added.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros (Senator Risa Hontiveros / Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Sen. Risa Hontiveros also said she welcomed the development even as the report on the second case of nCoV in the Philippines was undeniably alarming.
“We welcome this pronouncement of the President as a response to lawmakers call to impose a temporary ban from China and the Special Administrative Regions (SAR),” Hontiveros said in an interview over GMANewsTV.
“Of course, safety first for our Filipinos and of course the government should be able to provide assistance to the Filipinos who wish to return home from China,” she said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the measure was “drastic but necessary.”
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan also welcomed the travel ban, but urged health authorities to now track all suspected coronavirus carriers to prevent the spread of the disease.
“We welcome the total travel ban in order to prevent the spread of the disease. How we wish it came much earlier as hundreds of possible carriers have been able to enter the country in the last several days but better late than never,” Pangilinan said.
“Now we can effectively focus our efforts on tracking all those who are suspected of being carriers and work on quarantine and isolation,” said the senator.
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go earlier said the Duterte has ordered the expansion of the temporary travel ban to include travelers coming from any part of China and its special administrative regions to help combat the spread of the disease.
This was confirmed by Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, who said that the President issued the directive that was coursed through Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
“We assure the Filipino people that the directives issued by the President as well as the protocols being implemented as well as succeeding ones are all geared for the safety of our countrymen and will last until the danger of the dreaded disease has ceased,” Panelo said in a statement.
“We reiterate the advice of the DOH to the public to observe strictly the measures undertaken on personal hygiene like regularly washing the hands and wearing surgical masks when going around crowded areas,” the presidential spokesman added.