Long queues at Metro checkpoints

March 16 ------ Police began closing off access to the Philippines’ sprawling and densely populated Metro Manila on Sunday, imposing a quarantine that officials hope will curb the nation’s rising number of coronavirus cases. Officers armed with rifles blocked off main roads into the Metro region of some 12 million as domestic flights to and from Manila were halted early Sunday for a month-long isolation of the capital. Though the Philippines has had only a fraction of the infections seen in hot spots like China or Italy, its confirmed cases nearly doubled in recent days to 111, with 10 deaths.

“People are advised to stay home and not do anything,” Interior Secretary Edu­ardo Año told reporters Saturday. Several concerns were raised on the first day of the implementation of the community quarantine in Metro Manila on Sunday as the national government continues to find solutions on how to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) around the country. Concerns from the ground received by the Manila Bulletin include lack of thermal scanners in checkpoints, the supposedly changing rules on the implementation of the guidelines as to who are allowed to enter and leave Metro Manila, and the horrendous traffic that the checkpoints caused.

In particular, Philippine Army personnel manning the checkpoint in the boundary of Meycauayan, Bulacan, and Valenzuela City were found to have no working thermal scanners after the ones being used broke down before noon due to the volume of people be­ing checked. 1st Lt. Arrianne Bicharra, spokes­person of the military’s Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR), said they have already looked into the availability of thermal scan­ners in all checkpoints being manned by soldiers.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso has imposed a curfew starting Monday, March 16, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. A city ordi­nance mandating the curfew will be published in newspapers of general circulation on Monday. The Muntinlupa City Council also passed City Ordinance 2020-065 imposing curfew as part of the com­munity quarantine starting Monday, March 16, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Makati City Mayor Abby Binay Campos announced that curfew will be imposed in the city starting on Monday, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. as con­firmed cases of COVID-19 in the city rose to 14. Malls in Makati City will also temporarily close starting Monday. Restaurants will only open for take-out and delivery.

Ayala Malls and Robinsons Mall have also announced their temporary closure starting Monday. Shopping malls in San Juan City will be temporarily closed starting Sunday, March 15, Mayor Francis Zamora said. Owners of malls and landlords were urged by Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera and San Jose Del Monte City lone district Rep. Florida Robes to show compassion to their ten­ants by granting them discounts in their rental payment or rental holiday “to keep them afloat and ease their burden.” ACT CIS partylist Rep. Niña Ta­duran sought a moratorium on the payment of debts, taxes, fees and utility bills of consumers which are due within the one-month community quarantine period in Metro Manila.

Source: mb.com.ph