Local chief executives cannot place their areas under lockdown without the approval of the national government, and doing so might disqualify them from receiving cash aids, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said today.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año told reporters that governors and mayors will first need to seek approval from the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) before they can declare an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), ABS-CBN News reports.
“Now, a local chief executive cannot unilaterally place a province under ECQ. This should be approved by the IATF,” the Philippine Star quoted Año saying.
Año’s statement comes shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte extended the ECQ on Metro Manila for the second time, including in other parts of Visayas and Mindanao were COVID-19 cases were deemed high risk.
Read: BREAKING: ‘Enhanced community quarantine’ extended in Metro Manila, other high-risk areas
Following the ECQ’s second extension, however, Año said that a unilateral lockdown declaration will make the constituents of a locale ineligible to receive cash aid from the national government.
“[Local governments who do so,] they risk not receiving cash assistance from SAP [Social Amelioration Program],” CNN Philippines quoted Año saying in Filipino.
The following areas will remain under ECQ from May 1 to 15 and will be subject to rechecking, to curb the spread of the pandemic.
- Metro Manila
- Calabarzon
- Central Luzon regions
- In Luzon: Mindoro, Pangasinan, Benguet, Catanduanes, and Albay
- In the Visayas: Antique, Iloilo, Aklan, Capiz, and Cebu
- In Mindanao: Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, and Davao City
Meanwhile, confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide are now at 7,192, with 477 deaths, and 762 recoveries.
