Ifugao placed under MECQ, GCQ in Puerto Princesa

MANILA, Philippines — Ifugao has been added to the list of provinces under stricter modified enhanced community quarantine or MECQ starting today until May 14.

Meanwhile, Puerto Princesa in Palawan will be under general community quarantine (GCQ) until the end of this month.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced the updated list of quarantine classifications as provided under Resolution 113-A issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF.

Roque said local government officials of Ifugao and Puerto Princesa sought the stricter quarantine status, citing the daily attack and hospital utilization rates in their area in the past two weeks.

Ifugao is the second province in the Cordilleras that reverted to MECQ after Abra.

The IATF had earlier placed Santiago in Isabela, Quirino, Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal under MECQ until May 14.

Apayao, Baguio City, Benguet, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Batangas, Quezon, Tacloban, Iligan, Davao and Lanao del Sur are the other areas under GCQ until May 31.

The rest of the country is under modified GCQ.

Roque said the IATF allows the implementation of localized lockdowns if the need arises.

Malacañang maintained that staycations and tourism activities are still barred in areas under MECQ.

In Sipalay in Negros Occidental, tourism officer Jerick Lacson said resorts and accommodation establishments would remain closed.

Lacson said the city logged 35 cases on Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting the local IATF to reject a proposal of resort owners to allow them to operate at 50 percent capacity starting today.

Sipalay, which is dubbed the Jewel of the South because of its dive sites and white sand beaches, recorded 140 active cases as of Thursday.

Mayor Gina Montilla-Lizares was among those who recently contracted the virus.

In Kabankalan, 40 Army reservists were deployed to help enforce minimum health protocols.

In Pangasinan, Gov. Amado Espino III issued a circular reiterating the need to strictly impose quarantine protocols even though the province is under MGCQ.

Espino said travel to and from the National Capital Region-Plus bubble remains prohibited.

He said curfew hours are from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. while large gatherings are discouraged.

Espino said Pangasinan logged a record 701 active cases as of Tuesday. – Gilbert Bayoran, Eva Visperas