Abalos: Situation in Metro Manila just right for Alert 3

MANILA, Philippines — The situation in Metro Manila is “just right” to maintain Alert Level 3 in the region, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos said yesterday.

On Friday, the government placed the National Capital Region under Alert Level 3 until the end of the month.

Abalos said in their meeting earlier in the week, metrics showed there was still no need to elevate the current alert level to Alert Level 4, despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

According to Abalos, the people are now ‘self-regulating.’ “People are now self-regulating. So, the talks of an intention to raise the alert level… even if it is not raised, the citizens practice self-discipline, they are already self-regulating,” Abalos said during yesterday’s Laging Handa briefing.

“In a way, the Filipinos, after all of these variants – the UK variant, the Delta variant, the African variant and now Omicron – maybe, on their own as a people, we have learned to self-regulate even if you do not tell them not to go out. On their own, they know not to go out because there is the risk of spreading the virus,” he added.

The MMDA chairman also reiterated that they see no need to reimpose curfew, for now.

“When we met earlier in the week, we saw fewer people on the roads and in the malls. At night, there are just a few people. So, we have decided that in the meantime, there is no need for a curfew,” he said.