Robredo chides gov’t for ‘unclear’ communication of new quarantine rules

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo chided the government for its unclear way of explaining the changes in the enforcement of the different levels of community quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic in the Philippines.

In her weekly radio show with co-host Ely Saludar on Sunday, May 17, Robredo agreed with the phases of easing quarantines around the country.

However, she noted that there seemed to be some “shortcomings” in clearly communicating the changes related to the different quarantine levels as stated in the government’s omnibus guidelines, as well as the updates in the list of areas falling under each quarantine level.

“Parang nagkulang tayo doon sa mas klarong pagpaliwanag (It appears that we fell short in explaining clearly),” the Vice President said, compared to the “clarity of communication” of similar changes in other countries that they observed.

“Ito, Ka Ely, talaga namang—parang araw-araw nagbabago, araw-araw may dagdag, araw-araw may babaguhin. Iyon talaga iyong pinaka-reklamo ng marami: ‘Ano na ba talaga?’” she added.

(Here, Ely, it seems that every day, there are changes, something being added or changed. That’s the main complaint of many people: What’s really the rule?) 

Robredo then spent the first half of her radio show reiterating the government’s announcements and guidelines so far concerning the community quarantines.

Nonetheless, the Vice President urged the public to stay tuned for adjustments by government on the lockdown. 

From May 16 to 31, Cebu City and Mandaue City will be under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), while Metro Manila and several provinces will be under modified ECQ or MECQ.

The rest of the country was placed under general community quarantine or GCQ. (EXPLAINER: What’s modified ECQ and modified GCQ?)

As of Sunday, the country has 12,513 COVID-19 cases, with 824 deaths and 2,635 recoveries. – Rappler.com