“ME awa ang Diyos, di ako magla-lockdown. Why? Two years is enough for us to understand COVID. That there is a cycle of surge me pagtaas, me pagbaba, me paglakas, me paghina. What matters most is we should prepare ahead of the numbers.”
This was stated by presidential aspirant and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, saying that during lockdowns, the first to get hardly hit are the tourism and transport industries as he stressed the need for tourism to survive these days.
Moreno said that for every tourist that arrives in the country, one job opportunity is created for Filipinos, saying there is a need to open the economy “kasi magugutom ang tao kapag walang trabaho.”
“Salamat sa Diyos at sa mga taga-Maynila, halos lahat ng mga ospital namin, wala nang COVID cases. Pati ang COVID Field Hospital, two weeks na halos wala,” Moreno said, citing a report from mayoral candidate Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna who is in charge of the city government’s health cluster, being a lady doctor.
Moreno stressed the importance that while accepting tourists and welcoming them back to the country, there must be continued testing, vaccination and implementation of basic health protocols while the citizens learn to live with COVID and go back to work safely.
More importantly, he said, is the availability of free medicines that are known and used worldwide, facilities, center and equipment that are all meant to fight COVID.
“This was done in Manila and can be duplicated on a national scale,” Moreno added.
Moreno said the Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital in Luneta, which has a 344-bed capacity, will remain in place, after he tasked city administrator Felix Espiritu to coordinate with the national government for the retention of the said hospital while the pandemic remains.
“Magagamit ito ng Metro Manila, di lang ng Maynila. In fact, we cater to OFWs. Regalo na namin ang facility na ito, bilang pagtanaw sa ating mga OFW while we continue to pursue vaccination and provision of free medicines,” he added.
Field Hospital chief Dr. Arlene Dominguez said they continue accepting patients being referred by the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ) and Tondo Medical Center, which are both under the national government.
