By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday said he expects President Duterte to extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and other areas in Luzon that are most affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In a radio interview, Sotto said President Duterte should not lift the ECQ for largely-affected areas but modify it for others with less or no transmission of COVID-19.
“Ang inaasahan ko at sana ay maging mangyari ay modified. Modified, meaning ‘yong mga biggest hit na areas katulad ng NCR, ay ibang klaseng, hindi pwedeng i-lift. Kailangang i-extend. Pero merong mga modifications (I am expecting, and I hope it will happen, that the ECQ will be modified. Modified, meaning in the biggest-hit areas like the National Capital Region, the ECQ should not be lifted. It should be extended, but there has to be some modifications),” he told radio station DZMM.
He said “enhanced social distancing” may just be enforced in some provinces that recorded low or no coronavirus infections like Palawan and the Ilocos Region, as well some areas in Visayas and Mindanao.
The Senate leader attended President Duterte’s meeting with Cabinet officials and health experts on Monday regarding the government’s game plan after the ECQ lapses on April 30.
Duterte is reportedly set to announce his decision whether to extend, modify, or lift the ECQ on Thursday, April 23.
Sotto agreed with the health experts and said the government cannot abruptly lift the quarantine measures in fear of more COVID-19 infections.
He suggested, however, to let certain sectors and workers to resume operations, like tricycles and other modes of public transport, or construction, while maintaining safe distancing.
This was also the view of his colleagues in the Senate who said essential industries could be allowed to operate to help restart the local economy.
“Those towns that are COVID-free can restart commerce in a limited way. Wearing masks, social distancing etc. It’s more sustainable if the [local government unit] and the private sector can do mass testing, isolation, and treatment of patients,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said in a text message on Tuesday.
Sen. Joel Villanueva also said the quarantine can be lifted in some areas in Luzon “because they are far from having an outbreak.”
“In areas like NCR, Cebu, Bulacan, and Davao City, we can look at economic considerations in exempting some sectors from the quarantine but with the caveat that we will practice social distancing, hand washing, and sanitizing protocols, and of course, conducting regular random testing in these sectors,” he said.
Extending the lockdown in largely affected areas like Metro Manila while easing it in others with less COVID-19 cases “sounds like a reasonable compromise,” said Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara.
He said, however, that ports should remain open and food should be free to move around the country since they are “an absolute essential.”
“Whatever the decision of the President must be announced with some lead time especially if it involves some lifting or relaxation of the ECQ since preparations must be made on the ground,” Angara said.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/04/22/sotto-ecq-should-not-be-lifted-in-metro-manila-but-modified-in-other-areas/
Thursday, April 23, 2020
DoTr proposes to free up P15-B funds for coronavirus response
By Arjay L. Balinbin
Reporter
THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) on Monday said it identified 35 transport projects where around P15 billion can be freed up for the government’s coronavirus pandemic response efforts.
“submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) the list of projects for budget realignment to free up P15.1 billion of funds for initiatives to mitigate COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019),” the department said in a statement.
Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope O. Libiran declined to provide the list, but said it includes 35 program items and projects across all transport sectors such as rails, airports, ports and roads.
“Hindi ko pa ma-ishare kasi proposal pa lang siya (I cannot share the list because it’s just a proposal). It’s still up to the DBM if they will accept it,” she said in a phone interview.
Ms. Libiran said the projects are not being axed and will still proceed since only a portion of their budgets may be realigned.
“Hindi ititigil ang project… ’Yung portion ng budget ng projects na hindi naman madi-disburse this year, ’yun ang pwede naming ibigay o i-realign (The project will not be stopped… The portion of the budget that will not be disbursed this year, we can realign those),’’ she said.
Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the President has the authority to realign items from the 2019 and 2020 national budgets so it can fund measures to contain COVID-19.
The government has allocated P1.45 trillion so far for fiscal and monetary measures for COVID-19 response, the Finance department said. Around P304 billion has been allotted to assist the most vulnerable sectors, while the majority of the P830.272-billion funds will go to initiatives that will support the economy.
The Department of Finance recently said government expenditures are expected to hit P583 billion for emergency support to vulnerable sectors alone, while it has allotted P35 billion for medical expenses for the COVID-19 fight.
Work on many public infrastructure projects have stopped in Luzon, as the island was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on March 16. The ECQ is scheduled to be lifted on April 30, although the government is weighing whether or not to extend it further.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has allowed limited work for 13 rail projects despite the Luzon-wide lockdown.
These rail projects are the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Cavite Extension, LRT-2 East Extension, LRT-2 West Extension, LRT-2 Fire Restoration, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 Rehabilitation, MRT-7, Metro Manila Subway, Common Station, Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark 1, PNR Clark 2 and Calamba, Subic-Clark Railway, PNR Bicol, and Mindanao Railway.
Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar has said the department has reallocated a small amount — about P30 billion — from the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program to help finance the response to the crisis.
The “Build, Build, Build” budget stood at P816.2 billion last year. This year, the main agencies implementing the program, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the DoTr, have been given a budget of P581.7 billion and P100.6 billion respectively.
Mr. Villar has also said that projects under the infrastructure program will be slightly delayed, but targets for 2020 will still be met.
https://www.bworldonline.com/dotr-proposes-to-free-up-p15-b-funds-for-coronavirus-response/
Reporter
THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) on Monday said it identified 35 transport projects where around P15 billion can be freed up for the government’s coronavirus pandemic response efforts.
“submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) the list of projects for budget realignment to free up P15.1 billion of funds for initiatives to mitigate COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019),” the department said in a statement.
Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope O. Libiran declined to provide the list, but said it includes 35 program items and projects across all transport sectors such as rails, airports, ports and roads.
“Hindi ko pa ma-ishare kasi proposal pa lang siya (I cannot share the list because it’s just a proposal). It’s still up to the DBM if they will accept it,” she said in a phone interview.
Ms. Libiran said the projects are not being axed and will still proceed since only a portion of their budgets may be realigned.
“Hindi ititigil ang project… ’Yung portion ng budget ng projects na hindi naman madi-disburse this year, ’yun ang pwede naming ibigay o i-realign (The project will not be stopped… The portion of the budget that will not be disbursed this year, we can realign those),’’ she said.
Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the President has the authority to realign items from the 2019 and 2020 national budgets so it can fund measures to contain COVID-19.
The government has allocated P1.45 trillion so far for fiscal and monetary measures for COVID-19 response, the Finance department said. Around P304 billion has been allotted to assist the most vulnerable sectors, while the majority of the P830.272-billion funds will go to initiatives that will support the economy.
The Department of Finance recently said government expenditures are expected to hit P583 billion for emergency support to vulnerable sectors alone, while it has allotted P35 billion for medical expenses for the COVID-19 fight.
Work on many public infrastructure projects have stopped in Luzon, as the island was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on March 16. The ECQ is scheduled to be lifted on April 30, although the government is weighing whether or not to extend it further.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has allowed limited work for 13 rail projects despite the Luzon-wide lockdown.
These rail projects are the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Cavite Extension, LRT-2 East Extension, LRT-2 West Extension, LRT-2 Fire Restoration, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 Rehabilitation, MRT-7, Metro Manila Subway, Common Station, Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark 1, PNR Clark 2 and Calamba, Subic-Clark Railway, PNR Bicol, and Mindanao Railway.
Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar has said the department has reallocated a small amount — about P30 billion — from the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program to help finance the response to the crisis.
The “Build, Build, Build” budget stood at P816.2 billion last year. This year, the main agencies implementing the program, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the DoTr, have been given a budget of P581.7 billion and P100.6 billion respectively.
Mr. Villar has also said that projects under the infrastructure program will be slightly delayed, but targets for 2020 will still be met.
https://www.bworldonline.com/dotr-proposes-to-free-up-p15-b-funds-for-coronavirus-response/
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