Senator and Liberal Party President Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan suggested that the people from Mainland China who were allowed to visit the Philippines should head straight to Malacanang Palace instead of letting them travel in the different parts of the country.
Pangilinan made the said statements amid the first confirmed case of a novel coronavirus in the Philippines.
The opposition senator is one of the politicians who urged the government to disallow all people from Mainland China to visit the Philippines.
“Kung sa tingin ng gobyerno na ligtas ang ating mga kababayan at hindi kailangan ng travel ban sa mga galing ng China dapat mula airport derecho silang lahat sa Malakanyan,” said Pangilinan.
Pangilinan, like other Filipinos, wanted the Chinese to be temporarily banned from visiting the country as they being seen as the source of the coronavirus.
He also suggested several things like spreading information to the people about the said virus and setting up “hotlines” for people who wanted to seek help from the government.
“Unahin ang kapakanan at kaligtasan ng mamamayang Pilipino. Magsagawa na ng massive information drive kung paano ito maiiwasan at paano magpapagaling ang nahawahan. Mag setup ng mga hotline at emergency unit na magsasagawa ng mga quarantine at iba pang mga aksyon para maiwasan ang pagkalat ng sakit,” he said.
According to him, the virus which originated from Wuhan, China is serious and the government should do their best to prevent it from spreading around the Philippines.
“Kailangan nating pangalagaan ang mga kapwa Pilipino. Hindi biro ang sakit na ito. At hindi rin biro ang magkasakit sa Pilipinas,” Pangilinan said.
After the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the first case of coronavirus, President Rodrigo Duterte followed the suggestion of Senator Christopher “Bong” Go and ordered to disallow any tourist from some provinces in China to visit the Philippines.