Sen. Tolentino, Sotto urge study before Metro Manila lockdown

Senator Francis Tolentino advised a careful study on the proposal to lock down the entire National Capital Region due to the rising COVID-19 cases, emphasizing its extreme nature and significant economic impact.

Tolentino argued that Metro Manila is not comparable to severely affected areas like Lombardy in Italy or Wuhan in China, suggesting that a full lockdown would cripple the nation's economy.

He pointed out that Metro Manila hosts crucial institutions like the Philippine Stock Exchange and the central government administration, making a lockdown highly detrimental.

President Rodrigo Duterte also expressed reservations against a region-wide lockdown, stating that the country has not yet reached that level of contamination and that it is too early for such a measure.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III echoed these sentiments, calling a Metro Manila lockdown a "textbook case of overreaction" and warning that the economy would grind to a halt.

Instead of a total lockdown, Tolentino and Sotto proposed localized lockdowns in specific areas or barangays identified with positive COVID-19 cases to effectively control the virus's spread.

The Department of Health has stated that no lockdown would be enforced until sustained community transmission is confirmed.