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Malacañang said on Friday that some local government units, such as Zamboanga City and Legazpi City, have been requesting they be covered by the enhanced community quarantine to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease.

In the "Laging Handa" press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said he was surprised many LGUs want to be included under ECQ.

"Under the guidelines, the component cities and municipalities can declare ECQ but this (declaration) needs concurrence of the local IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases)," he said.

Mayors of the highly-urbanized cities could also enforce ECQ in the barangays but with the concurrence also of the local IATF, he said.

But for the provinces, they can only be placed under ECQ or GCQ with the approval of the national IATF, Roque added.

He noted Bacolod City first appealed to be placed under ECQ after the IATF came out with the list of areas that should remain under the lockdown and those under GCQ.

The Bacolod City Council came out with a resolution, which the IATF granted.

"I know that among those which appealed (to be under ECQ) are Zamboanga City, Legazpi City. Those are the only (LGUs) that I have remembered to have appealed to remain under ECQ," Roque said.

He said the IATF has yet to act on the request.

Places under ECQ are those with high number of COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, Roque said that motorcycle ride-hailing services, such as Angkas, are still banned in ECQ areas since social distancing could not be observed.

"Social distancing is impossible in Angkas," he said, noting that under the IATF guidelines, public transportation is allowed in GCQ areas provided that at least one meter social distancing is observed.

Taxis and transport network vehicle service, such as Grab, are also allowed to operate in GCQ places.

However, Roque said the number of passengers would be limited to ensure physical distancing.

He also said that local tourism is still banned. Celerina Monte/DMS