POLITICIANS running from various posts in 2022 presidential elections have been told by the health department to avoid holding campaign sorties that may cause overcrowding and lead to COVID-19 superspreader events.
“Nananawagan kami ulit sa ating mga opisyales at kumakandidato sa darating na eleksyon, sana po wag po tayong mag-hold ng mga gatherings at events na alam natin will cause overcrowding and this might cause infections in the coming days and weeks,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.
The tandem of former senator Bongbong Marcos and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte drew thousands during their rally in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija on Sunday.
Last week, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said that Political rallies are still not allowed at this point telling aspirants to wait for the campaign period
“Bawal pa po ang mga political rally. Hindi pa po campaign period. We have been seeing candidates, both national and local, staging political rallies here and there which gather hundreds if not thousands of people. Hindi pa po tapos ang pandemya. Parating pa ang Omicron variant,” Año said.
“We cannot put our guard down. The Omicron variant has already reached many countries and it’s only a matter of time before it reaches us,” he said.
The DILG Chief appealed to candidates, political parties, and their supporters nationwide to refrain from holding political rallies that will gather massive number of people as this may become super-spreader events especially when Minimum Public Health Standards (MPHS) are compromised.
He explained that special gatherings, on the other hand, may be allowed subject to approval by the LGU provided that venue operational capacity and all MPHS are complied with and strictly observed.
He said that only caravans and motorcades were given the green light because there is physical distancing and these are usually held for a limited time only. They are also held in open areas where the possibility of the transmission of the coronavirus is small.
“Nakamonitor ang mga kapulisan sa mga caravan or motorcade at sinisiguro nila na may physical distancing, hindi katulad sa mga political rally na mahirap ikontrol ang mga tao,” he said.
“There is a time for everything and now is not the time to gather a huge number of people. Let’s wait for the campaign period. We are fortunate na bumababa ang kaso sa ating bansa but this is not the time to push our luck. COVID-19 is still here and we can’t be complacent,” he said.
According to the Commission on Elections, the official campaign period begins on February 8, 2022 for national posts and March 25, 2022 for local elective positions, including the position of Members of the House of Representatives.
