By Rene Acosta & Jonathan L. Mayuga
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) clarified on Thursday that it has not issued any directive putting Metro Manila on a lockdown over the Covid-19.
“Contrary to some reports circulating in the social media, please be advised that the PNP has not issued any order for a lockdown in the NCR. It is only the NDRRMC [National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council] that can issue such an order to address the current public health emergency,” the PNP said in a statement issued through its acting spokesman Major General Benigno
Durana Jr.
“Nonetheless, the PNP is continuously enhancing its preparations to address any contingency. We will update you of any development as the need arises,” It added.
Caution
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), meanwhile, has cautioned media on using the word “lockdown” as it might create fear and panic in light of the increasing number of confirmed cases of Covid-19.
So far, the Department of Health (DOH) said the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is up to 49 with two incidents of death, a Chinese national and a 67-year-old Filipino woman. The surge in the number of positive cases has reportedly triggered panic buying, with some netizens reporting shortages of alcohol supply in grocery stores and even pharmacies.
A source from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said a proposed measure to limit the purchase of alcohol, or liquid disinfectants, has gained the nod of President Duterte and that an executive order will be drafted to enforce it soon.
The supposed lockdown, order, emanated from a memorandum issued by a PNP Director for the Operations Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Luis Licup, calling for a meeting among police officials that will be presided by Licup, an advance copy of which was leaked to the media.
Other officials invited to the meeting were the intelligence chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, officials from the five police districts of Metro Manila, the military’s Joint Task Force NCR, the NDRRMC and the DOH.
The meeting scheduled at 1 p.m. on Thursday was confirmed by PNP Deputy chief for Operations Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar.
“One of the items to be discussed is the lockdown scenario if ever there is a need to do it. It’s just for planning,” Eleazar said.
Army chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said that if ever a lockdown would be imposed in any area, they would just restrict the movement of people.
Public reaction
The spread of an impending lockdown on social media, however, apparently fanned public anxiety, prompting a second day of panic buying in supermarkets—with long lines to cashier booths running to an average 60 to 90 minutes wait for many—as well as drug stores. Some bank officers worried that the lockdown talk would also spur panic withdrawals.
No extreme measure
DILG spokesman Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, in a news statement, believes the media is partly to be blamed for the panic buying for using the word lockdown.
He explained that when the word lockdown is used, it means that people are confined in one area, or place, and they are not allowed to leave by authorities, which is not the case.
“That’s why the word lockdown is usually used in relation to prisoners. So when China declared a lockdown in Wuhan, its citizens are not allowed to leave [the city] and the highways were closed. That’s a lockdown,” he said.
According to Malaya, a lockdown is an “extreme measure,” which may be adopted “if we are already on Code Red Sublevel 2 when we have contained community transmission.”
“But since we don’t have those conditions yet, there is no compelling reason to place any place under lockdown,” he said.
Malaya said that when a building, or a compound, is closed for disinfection, it is not under lockdown.
“That only means that the building, compound or place is closed and, therefore, we should accurately describe it as such. It’s just closed,” he said.
Malaya said the constant use of the word lockdown has triggered panic buying and other unnecessary acts brought about by fear.
While the DILG and PNP are ready to implement a lockdown, he clarified that the situation on the ground does not warrant its enforcement or implementation.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila