By Alec Go
Malacanang reminded attendees, local governments, and organizers of political caravans of their “shared responsibility” on the conduct of political gatherings before the campaign period amid the threat posed by COVID-19.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a Palace briefing today (Dec. 10) that attendees should ensure that they are fully vaccinated and are observing minimum public health standards.
“Dito sa laban against COVID, kailangan nating lahat magtulungan. So una, sa mga nagpa-participate sa mga caravans na ito, itong mga supporters, tandaan natin na mask, hugas, iwas, bakuna,” he said.
“I hope that we take our shared responsibility seriously, given na ang haba na ng pinagdaanan natin for how many months in this war against COVID-19. Huwag nating sayangin ang efforts ng lahat,” he added.
Nograles also reminded local government units and local officials to implement public health guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
He said the DILG has been conducting assessment and coordinating with local governments following the reported gathering of huge crowds without physical distancing.
Discussions are also ongoing with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) before the campaign period begins.
“But in the meantime, it’s really with the DILG and the LGUs, the barangays to really step-up efforts ‘no to ensure na lahat ng minimum public health standards and protocols natin ay sinusunod,” he said.
Earlier this month, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya expressed alarm over the conduct of several campaign events during the pandemic, and while the campaign period has not yet commenced. -rir
