INAYAWAN ni Senate President Vicente Sotto III ang deklarasyon ng lockdown sa Metro Manila na itinago ng Palasyo sa taguring “community quarantine” dahil lubhang maapektuhan ang galaw ng ekonomiya ng bansa.
Sa pahayag, sinabi ni Sotto na overreaction ang “lockdown” sa Kamaynilaan na dapat magkaroon ng localized containment sa halip na pigilan ang mamamayan na pumasok at lumabas sa Metro Manila.
“Preventing travel to and from Metro Manila with only 52 cases as this point is a textbook case of overreaction. This drastic measure will only result in panic and hoarding of goods,” ayon kay Sotto.
“But the poor and the vulnerable sectors will be heavily-disadvantaged under this scenario, as they don’t have the resources to cope with any shortage of food and other necessities, and the resulting inflation, if any,” dagdag pa niya.
Sinabi ni Sotto na hindi lockdown ang nararapat na tugon, na lubhang “extreme measure” kundi localized containment ng mga kaso ng COVID-19.
“The time is not ripe for placing entire communities, cities and provinces under lockdown. Lockdown should be the last resort,” ayon kay Sotto.
Ipinaliwanag pa ng senador na masyadong malaki ang magiging epekto ng lockdown sa ekonomiya ng National Capital Region.
“NCR is the political and economic capital of the Philippines. The economy will grind to a halt as the flow of goods and people from the provinces to NCR, and vice versa, will be affected. The solution lies in more testing of the population and strict containment of heavily-affected areas, if such a scenario arises,” giit ni Sotto. ESTONG REYES
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