President Rodrigo Duterte has stated Monday night that classes must not start until a vaccine for the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is found.
President Duterte emphasized that there is nothing more important than the life of a person as he declared, “I will not allow the opening of classes na magdikit-dikit iyang mga bata na ‘yan (where students will be too close to each other) unless I am sure that they are really safe. It is useless to be talking about opening of classes. That’s what I meant. Para sa akin, bakuna muna. ‘Pag nandiyan na ang bakuna, okay na. (For me, the vaccine should come first. If the vaccine is there, it will be okay). So remember that. Pati iyong mga mayors, governors (Even the mayors and governors), kindly remember that they are Filipinos and that there is only one body.”
On his directive for the 24,000 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) stranded in quarantine facilities in Metro Manila, the Chief Executive reiterated that local government units (LGUs) should not deny the entry of OFWs in their repective areas especially when plenty of them are expected to arrive in the Philippines in the next few days.
President Duterte has given authority to maximize the resources of the government even if its fund for the COVID-19 pandemic is just meant to send people back to their homes.
“Kung may naiwan pa sa 200 million gastusin rin ninyo ‘yon para sa pag-uwi ng tao. (If there is anything left of the Php 200 million, use it to send people home). It is the constitutional right of people to go home, to travel and go home. Do not impede it. Do not obstruct the movement of people because you run the risk of getting sued criminally. I said nobody but nobody, that only the national government can impose restrictions on travels.” President Duterte added. – Report from Mela Lesmoras
