Some LGUs seek quarantine status change

MANILA, Philippines — Several local government units (LGUs) have appealed to have their quarantine status changed starting Nov. 1, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said yesterday.

The DILG could not name which areas signified their appeal pending the go-signal from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, but department spokesman Jonathan Malaya said the IATF had already begun processing the requests.

Malaya also did not say why the LGUs were making the appeal.

“There have been appeals, but I cannot disclose them yet as per our process. We do not give announcements until these have been dealt with by the IATF,” Malaya said at the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday.

President Duterte earlier announced that Metro Manila, Batangas, Lanao del Sur and the cities of Iloilo, Bacolod, Tacloban and Iligan were to be under general community quarantine from Nov. 1 to 30.

Duterte said most of these communities signified their preference to make their quarantine status permanent due to promising COVID-19 case reduction.

Malaya said they would be announcing the LGUs that made an appeal against the President’s decision once a technical working group of the agency and the IATF have both made their decisions.