MORE than four-and-a-half years after assuming the top political post of the land, President Rodrigo Duterte continues to demonstrate his concern for children not only in the metropolis but elsewhere.,
And the crusading Duterte administration has not shown any sign of backing off from its commitment to alleviate the plight of the country’s youngsters, including the so-called “street children.”
In fact, the safety of children amid the paralyzing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains “a top priority” of the administration, which ends at 12 noon on June 30, 2022.
Last Tuesday, the tough-talking Duterte rejected the move to allow minors as young as 10 years old to go out of their homes, according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
Roque said the Chief Executive was forced to shoot down the move due to the confirmed local transmission of the new COVID-19 variant in the town of Bontoc in Mountain Province.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases had earlier allowed people aged 10 to 65 to go out, starting February 1, in areas under modified general community quarantine.
In a statement, the Department of Health (DOH) said the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 – the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 – had been identified through genome sequencing.
“Ang kanyang pangunahing concern eh pangalagaan ang kalusugan ng ating mga kabataan…Habang hindi pa tayo masyadong maraming alam sa bagong variant, stay home muna tayo,” said Roque.
Without doubt, the public is heartened that the Duterte administration is paying special attention to our children.
Like other well-meaning Filipinos, we share the view of the Chief Executive that our youngsters ought to stay indoors since the new COVID-19 variant, according to reports, easily infects them.
