Give aid to families, prop up LGUs during ‘NCR Plus’ lockdown – Robredo

As areas in the “NCR Plus” bubble brace for a weeklong lockdown, Vice President Leni Robredo urged the Duterte administration to provide aid to families and further strengthen local government units (LGUs) so they can better respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

During her weekly radio show on Sunday, March 28, Robredo said aid should be given to those who would be most affected by the lockdown.

To further curb the spread of COVID-19, the government placed Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite – the “NCR Plus” bubble – under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from Monday, March 29, until Easter Sunday, April 4.

“Parati natin itong pinaglalaban: na kung magla-lockdown ay kailangang may ayuda. Kailangang may ayuda doon sa mga walang tira – ang gusto kong sabihin, na kapag hindi magtrabaho ay walang kakainin iyong pamilya,” said Robredo.

(We’ve always pushed for this: when there’s a lockdown, there should be aid given to those who don’t have anything to fall back on – I mean, those who, if they couldn’t work, would have nothing to feed their families.)

The Vice President also said the aid should be given sooner rather than later.

“Sana iyong ayuda ay ngayon ibigay habang naka-lockdown, para hindi nagpupumilit iyong mga tao na lumabas para maghanapbuhay. Pero ang sabi magkakaroon daw. Sana sa lalong madaling panahon,” she said.

(I hope the aid will be given during the lockdown, so that people won’t insist on going out to earn a living. The government said they’ll give out aid. I hope that would be done as soon as possible.)

In addition, Robredo suggested that LGUs be given more support, because she sees them as the “strongest link” in the country’s pandemic response.

“Iyong sa week na ito, tingnan na iyong mga capacities ng LGUs, iyong kulang ay punuan na, para naman buwelo sila. Kasi nakita naman natin…in the past year, talagang iyong LGUs iyong naasahan. Parang iyong LGUs din iyong pagdating sa parang pag-shepherd ng mga constituents nila – sino iyong mga ite-test, sino iyong mga ika-quarantine.”

(This week, let’s monitor the LGUs’ capacities, so that we can address the gaps and they could prepare better. We’ve seen in the past year that LGUs are the ones we depend on. They’re the ones responsible for shepherding their constituents in terms of who to test and quarantine.)

Robredo likewise said the government should listen to the suggestions of doctors and other health experts for improving pandemic response, like the expansion of the current One Hospital Command Center into a wider referral network of hospitals and health facilities.

The Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 said on Saturday, March 27, that the Duterte government should “future-proof” its actions to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the country. – Rappler.com