Malacañang on Monday said there was no need to revert to more stringent community quarantine classifications despite the growing number of infections being recorded daily.
In a press briefing, Palace spokesman Harry Roque affirmed that the country was “ready” to heal infected Filipinos as he cited hospital occupancy data.
“For the month of March, I don’t think it [stricter lockdown] is called for,” he said.
“Bakit po? Kasi talagang datos po ang ating pinagbabasehan. Sabihin na nating dumami ang kaso pero nakikita naman natin, handa tayong gamutin iyong mga seryosong magkakasakit.”
Roque said the country had sufficient ward, isolation and intensive care unit beds available.
He also stressed that local government units could be placed under stricter lockdowns by their officials.
“Hindi ko naman po sinasabi na buong barangay e i-lockdown ninyo kung wala namang kaso sa buong barangay. Iyong kalye, iyong bahay, iyong compound na mayroong mga maraming sakit, i-lockdown ninyo na po iyan dahil iyan po talaga ang ating istratehiya ngayon,” Roque said.
The Palace spokesman said the country could not afford more lockdowns given its current economic state.
The Philippines has recorded 597,763 Covid-19 cases as of March 8. It has seen a daily rise of more than 3,000 cases daily for the past four days. John Ezekiel J. Hirro