Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 8) — President Rodrigo Duterte and Cabinet officials did not touch on their sudden decision to postpone the implementation of general community quarantine with alert levels in Metro Manila during the two-hour address taped late Tuesday.
The public waited for updates or an explanation for the change of heart.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) announced on Sept. 4 that the National Capital Region (NCR) will shift to GCQ with granular lockdowns. Three days later, the government announced it will push through but the guidelines are being finalized for the implementation on Wednesday. On Tuesday night, however, officials backtracked, saying the capital region will stay under the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine pending fine-tuning of the new policy.
Metro Manila mayors said they were upset and could not understand the national government’s sudden decision. Restaurant owners were also dismayed since they bought perishable items to prepare for their slated opening.
Meanwhile, Duterte said he will address the nation twice a week to give updates on COVID-19 response efforts.
