Tondo likely holding 48-hour lockdown this weekend
Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso will place Tondo under a 48-hour hard lockdown this weekend.
This follows a similar move by the Manila City Hall last week when it locked down Sampaloc, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the city, for 48 hours.
Like in Sampaloc, Manila will conduct mass COVID-19 testing during the lockdown. Tondo 1 has the second largest number of COVID-19 cases at 81 next to Sampaloc's 103.
In a television interview Wednesday, Domagoso said considering port operations, the hard lockdown in Tondo may most likely be declared on May 3 to 4.
"Definitely this week and it's going to be over the weekend. As I have said a few minutes ago, we have talk to industries in west side of the city,the bay side industry, the port operators. They have prepared dates so that their operation will not be entirely affected," he said.
"It can be May 2 and 3. It can be May 3 and 4. this weekend definitely... most likely its gonna be May 3 and 4'', he added.
Domagoso explained that according to the port operators movement of containers and packages in ports is much lesser every Sunday and Monday.
"There is a study that was given to us by the port operators...Piers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16, there are domestic and foreign vessels that arrive,'' he said.
"In the International Container Therminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) are foreign vessels. (In) the Harbor Center, there are domestic and international vessels arriving there. According to them, lesser movement of packages and containers is on a Sunday, on a Monday so we really have to balance ( things)," he added.
Domagoso said they are carefully planning the implementation of hard lockdown because aside from the port area, the Divisoria area, which is also the center of commerce in the city, is within Tondo.
"One of the decisions that we are very careful in planning the hard lockdown is (because of) the Divisoria area where vegetables, meat and fish are in the night market... it is where the supplies of our 17 public markets in the city comes from and that also helps the Metro Manila public market," he said.
Domagoso said careful planning is also needed to ensure that the implementation of the hard lockdown will follow the national policy or the guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (AITF) for Covid-19.
Domagoso said there are about 500,000 individuals or around 100,000 families living in Tondo.
He said Manila City Hall has begun distributing cash assistance for Tondo residents to make sure people in the area will have enough food during the lockdown.
"We will provide food, in fact today we're going to finish District One Tondo, the financial assistance for the senior citizen because we have finish (distribution).. so we are now on the last phase of this weeks assistance," he said. Robina Asido/DMS
