Tag: quarantine

Agarang Implementasyon ng Standard Quarantine Protocols, Apela ni Ping

Para sa maluwag na paggalaw ng mga umuuwing overseas Filipino workers (OFW) at pagpanumbalik ng masiglang ekonomiya ng bansa.

Ito ang dalawang mahahalagang puntos na idiniin ni Senador Panfilo Lacson sa pagsuporta at pag-apela sa National Task Force Against COVID-19 na pabilisin ang pagpapatupad ng standard quarantine protocols sa mga Pinoy na nabakunahan na rito sa Pilipinas at sa ibang bansa.

Ayon kay Lacson, hindi na makakapaghintay pa ang ekonomiya kaya’t ito ay dapat nang pabilisin sa pamamagitan ng mas pinagaang na sistema ng paggalaw ng mga ganap nang nabakunahan laban sa COVID-19.

“Please make it sooner, not later. Mind the economy for a change,” panawagan ni Lacson sa kanyang Twitter account.

Read in ENGLISH: Lacson: Fast-Track Standard Quarantine Protocols to Benefit OFWs, Economy
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Lacson: Fast-Track Standard Quarantine Protocols to Benefit OFWs, Economy

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson pushed for the fast-tracking of standard quarantine protocols for vaccinated Filipinos, to benefit not just returning overseas Filipino workers but also our economy.

As he threw his full support behind the National Task Force Against COVID-19’s move to draw up standard quarantine protocols for Filipinos vaccinated here and abroad, Lacson said economic recovery cannot afford to wait.

“Please make it sooner, not later. Mind the economy for a change,” he said in a post on his Twitter account.

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Data is Key: Flattening the Curve, Preventing a Recession, and Aiding the Poor

It is a most difficult decision to strike a balance between flattening the curve of COVID-19 and the looming economic recession due to a wide swath of business inactivity.

Thus, it is better left to those who have almost unlimited access to all the relevant data to decide which is the best course of action to take moving forward.

Having said that, I am sure that if Congress is provided with all those data, we can help in the policy direction.

On the other hand, there is no perfect system of distribution of aid considering the number of families involved in the cash dole-out, further complicated by a less efficient database due to the late implementation of the National ID system.

Just as intelligence information can spell the difference between success and failure in my previous life in intelligence and law enforcement work, data is the key for our policy makers to make the right decisions at this critical time.

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On Legal Tools in Enforcing “Community Quarantines”

As the “community quarantine” to address the COVID-19 threat starts, the Philippine National Police should exercise caution in handling the situation.

Republic Act 9271, the Quarantine Act of 2004 – replacing a very old Republic Act 123 of 1947 – is silent on the movements of persons in the streets as it only covers domestic and international seaports and airports.

Hence, law enforcement authorities may not be legally equipped to conduct arrest unless local ordinances are available for its enforcement.

For its part, Congress may need to amend R.A. 9271 to adapt to this new normal, the COVID-19, and God knows what else would come to hit us in the future. Hopefully we’ve seen the last of its kind even as we pray that cure will come sooner than soon.

Having said that, the people are enjoined to fully cooperate. After all, these are extraordinary times that call for extraordinary measures.

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