MANILA, Philippines – House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Wednesday expressed support for proposals to lower National Capital Region’s (NCR) COVID-19 alert status to level 2 by mid-November.
In a statement, Velasco said they are supporting recommendations to further ease NCR’s alert status amid the steady decline in new infections as this would result in broader reopening of the economy.
“Downgrading Metro Manila’s lockdown restrictions to Alert Level 2 would mean that more businesses will resume operations and operate at increased capacity, thus allowing more Filipinos to regain their jobs and income,” he said.
Metro Manila is under COVID-19 Alert Level 3 until November 14.
Under Alert Level 3, several establishments are allowed to operate at 30% indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals, and 50% outdoor venue capacity, provided that all employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, under Alert Level 2, indoor operations of establishments will be allowed at 50% venue capacity with an additional 10% capacity if they were awarded with Safety Seal Certifications.
Velasco noted that 80% of the NCR’s population have completed their vaccine doses and 96% have received their first dose.
“Given these data, we can confidently reopen as many businesses as possible and get our economy back on track. Lowering the alert level in NCR as soon as possible could jumpstart the economy with increased consumer spending encouraging increase in production and economic activity, thereby bringing about employment opportunities for our kababayans,” he said.
Velasco urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) to “check the effectivity or efficiency of each brand of COVID-19 vaccines so as to give notice to our kababayans when they need to get a booster or get another round of vaccine.”
“We also urge those who have yet to be inoculated to avail of the vaccines procured by the national government,” he said.
“This is the only way to ensure the safety of everyone as we slowly go back to our normal lives, to the way things were before the pandemic. Until then, let us continue to abide by the minimum health standards set by medical and science experts, such as wearing of face mask and maintaining physical distancing, for us to stay safe during the health crisis,” he added.
The Philippines has so far fully vaccinated over 27.3 million individuals against COVID-19 while around 31.9 million have received their first shots.
The national government is aiming to vaccinate up to 70 million Filipinos to achieve population protections against COVID-19.
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