President Rodrigo Duterte revealed that they’re considering to extend the enhanced community quarantine until April 30.
During his televised address, the President said that they already discussed the possibility of extending the lockdown
“If you really want to know, we have discussed it actually even before this, we are inclined to extend the lockdown up to April 30, tignan natin,” Duterte said.
The lockdown was supposed to end two weeks from now.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. already hinted at the possible lockdown extension a few days ago to ensure control of the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Galvez explained that the cases are still rising and it might only give difficulties to the government if they decided to end the lockdown quickly.
Vice President Leni Robredo and businesses also supported the lockdown extension.
Duterte also vowed to hasten their discussion about their actions to help the middle-class families in the Philippines after he received a letter from Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla.
Remulla said that people belong to the middle-class should also be eligible to be part of the social amelioration program of the Duterte administration as they “pay the most taxes”.
“It is a time of crisis for everyone. Not just the poorest of the poor, but also those who have built much but not enough. They wait for the LGU’s to give them relief goods but those come few and far in between. They scrimp and pawn and borrow. They are barely surviving,” Remulla stated.
“As governor, I am respectfully asking that you consider them to be part of the social amelioration program. They may not get as much as the poorest of the poor but please consider their welfare. They are often overlooked. They pay the most taxes. They keep our economy alive. They are mostly law-abiding citizens. They need a break,” he also said.
Before he ended his speech, Duterte hoped that the situation improves in the upcoming days.