The enhanced community quarantine in Luzon was a series of
stay-at-home orders and ''
cordon sanitaire'' measures implemented by the
(IATF-EID) on the island of
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
and
its associated islands. It is part of the
COVID-19 community quarantines in the Philippines, a larger scale of
COVID-19 containment measures with varying degrees of strictness. The "enhanced community quarantine" (ECQ) is the strictest of these measures and is effectively a total
lockdown.
There were three instances of the ECQ being implemented in Luzon. The first ECQ and first MECQ were implemented between March 17 and May 31, 2020. This was announced on March 16, two days after the
government of the Philippines under
Rodrigo Duterte placed
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
under a "community quarantine" on March 14. It was implemented throughout Luzon from March 17 until May 15, and remained in areas with a moderate to high risk of infection until May 31. New degrees such as "modified enhanced community quarantine" (MECQ) and "general community quarantine" (GCQ) were introduced by the IATF-EID during the month of May as easing restrictions commenced, until all restrictions under ECQ and MECQ were downgraded to GCQ and "modified general community quarantine" (MGCQ) on June 1.
After two months of a relaxed GCQ status, a second MECQ was reimplemented in
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
and its immediate surrounding provinces on August 4 and was lifted on August 18. Finally, on January 24, 2021, a second ECQ was restored in
Tabuk
Tabuk may refer to:
*Tabuk, Kalinga, the capital city of Kalinga province of the Philippines
*Tabuk Province, a province of Saudi Arabia
**Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, capital city of the province
** Tabuk Regional Airport
* Battle of Tabuk, a military ex ...
while an MECQ was raised in four more municipalities in
Kalinga Kalinga may refer to:
Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology
* Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India
** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature
** Kalinga script, an ancient writin ...
. It was lifted on February 15. Due to a recent spike in COVID cases, especially in the
Greater Manila Area, a third ECQ was reimplemented for the
Holy Week
Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
starting on March 29 until April 4, which has since been extended until April 11, 2021.
The ECQ affected around 57 million people in Luzon during its peak. It also resulted in the mobilization of the national and local governments, with the
Bayanihan to Heal as One Act passed to combat the epidemic. The effectiveness of the ECQ implementation was noted by a study made by the
University of the Philippines, although there were also several documented cases of violations of ECQ regulations. Authorities then pushed for stricter enforcement, which in turn raised concerns of
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
violations.
Background
Following the outbreak of
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which started in
Wuhan,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
, the Philippine government confirmed the country's first case of the disease on January 30, 2020, when the virus was detected in a Chinese national who traveled from Wuhan, China and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
.
The second case was confirmed on February 2, the patient being the first death outside
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...
was also Chinese.
Three days later, on February 5, another Chinese national was confirmed to the be third case in the Philippines.
After a month, on March 5, the
Department of Health (DOH) announced that the first Filipino in the Philippines confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 who is also the fourth case while the fifth case is the first case of local transmission since the infected person did not travel outside the Philippines.
The sixth case that was confirmed on March 7 is the wife of the fifth case.
In the following days, the number of cases steadily increased.
Lockdowns
Initial lockdowns
On March 8, 2020, President
Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation 922 placing the entire Philippines under state of public health emergency because of the COVID-19 threat that is looming in the nation.
On the next day, March 9,
Congressman Joey Salceda
Jose Ma. Clemente "Joey" Sarte Salceda (, born October 26, 1961) is a Filipino politician and the current Representative of Albay's 2nd District in the Philippine House of Representatives. He previously served as governor of Albay province in th ...
of the
2nd district of the province of Albay recommended a
lockdown of the entire
National Capital Region
A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...
(NCR) for a period of seven days, in response to the COVID-19 threat. Some of Salceda's proposals for implementing the lockdown include banning mass transportation and stopping the operation of the
Philippine expressway network that ply to and from the region, and canceling of classes and work. At first, President Rodrigo Duterte turned down the idea because it would "hamper the flow of basic commodities," although, Health Secretary
Francisco Duque
Francisco Tiongson Duque III (; born February 13, 1957) is a Filipino physician and government official who served as Secretary of Health in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2017 to 2022, a position he had previously held from 20 ...
III, opined that the lockdown may put into effect in some areas where there are reported community-based transmissions, but not the whole NCR.
On March 12, President Duterte announced the "community quarantine" of
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
that would start at 12 midnight on March 15 up to April 14 that covers 16
cities and one
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
. Traveling through land, domestic air, and domestic sea from Metro Manila was suspended but with exceptions. For international travel, restrictions are imposed on those who came from countries with localized COVID-19 transmissions, except for citizens of the Philippines (including their foreign spouse and children) or holders of permanent resident visas and diplomat visas. Mass transportation vehicles are allowed to operate provided that persons riding these vehicles comply with the social distancing guidelines.
Curfew has also put into place by the
local government units (LGUs) of Metro Manila.
Expansion to Luzon
During the second day of the implementation of the Metro Manila community quarantine, on March 16, President Duterte declared a Luzon-wide "enhanced community quarantine" (ECQ) that aimed to further combat the effect of the continuing and increasing spread of COVID-19. It took effect on March 17 and was supposedly scheduled to end on April 12. This quarantine also included the
Mimaropa
Mimaropa (usually capitalized in official government documents), formally known as the Southwestern Tagalog Region, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It was also formerly but still colloquially designated as Region IV-B until 201 ...
region (
Occidental
Occidental may refer to:
* Western world (of or pertaining to)
Places
* Occidental, California, a town in Sonoma County, California, US
* Occidental Park (Seattle)
Other uses
* Interlingue, a constructed language formerly known as Occidental
...
and
Oriental Mindoro,
Marinduque,
Romblon and
Palawan) despite it being outside the Luzon island. The Luzon ECQ is described under a March 16 memorandum from
Executive Secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
Salvador Medialdea by the order of the President as compliance to Proclamation No. 929 (state of calamity of the whole Philippines due to COVID-19), Proclamation No. 922 (public health emergency) and Republic Act No. 11332 (reporting of communicable diseases law).
Extensions
April 30, 2020
On March 30, DOH Secretary Duque said that lifting the ECQ is "too early to assess," citing the
Wuhan lockdown was still in effect even if the new COVID-19 daily reported cases are single-digit only. On the next day, March 31, the Spokesperson of the IATF-EID and Cabinet Secretary
Karlo Nograles revealed that the DOH will be the forefront on the technical working group who will set parameters that President Duterte will utilize for making the decision regarding the lifting, extension or expansion of the Luzon ECQ. He further added that science will decide on the matter.
The IATF-EID met on April 3 and came up with factors in determining the total or partial lifting, or possible extension or expansion of the Luzon ECQ.
The factors include social, economic, security, COVID-19
epidemiological curve trends, and health care system capacity.
National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 chief implementer Secretary
Carlito Galvez Jr. said that the President is set to decide on the matter between April 12 and 14. On a televised broadcast on April 6, Duterte said that he is considering to lengthen the Luzon ECQ up to the end of April 2020. On April 7, Cabinet Secretary Nograles said that Duterte accepted the recommendation of the IATF-EID to extend the Luzon ECQ to April 30. He further said that the "extension of the ECQ shall be without prejudice to the discretion of the President to relax the implementation of the ECQ in some local jurisdictions, or the granting of exemptions in favor of certain sectors, as public health considerations and food security may warrant."
He also said that there is no need to expand the ECQ to the
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...
and
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
.
May 15, 2020
According to the April 20 statement of the newly installed Presidential spokesperson
Harry Roque, the President is 50/50 on deciding the lifting of the ECQ that is expiring on April 30. Duterte was set to decide on the fate of the Luzon ECQ on April 23
but Roque later said that Duterte will make a public address about the Luzon ECQ on April 24. He previously met with health policy experts to help him decide on the matter. According to Senator
Bong Go
Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Tesoro Go (; born June 14, 1974) is a Filipino politician serving as a Senator since 2019. He previously served in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte as Special Assistant to the President and Head of the Pre ...
, who was also present during the meeting, said that a modified quarantine is likely to be implemented after April 30.
On the other hand, the WHO recommended on April 22 a gradual lifting of the lockdowns. The organization earlier advised the Philippine authorities to contemplate on the "epidemiological situation" with regards to the lifting of the Luzon lockdown.
In his address to the public on April 24, Duterte declared that the ECQ is prolonged up to May 15, 2020, only for Metro Manila,
Calabarzon,
Central Luzon
Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...
(except Aurora), and other areas in Luzon that are deemed high-risk to critical-risk for COVID-19.
These high-risk areas include
Benguet,
Pangasinan
Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its cap ...
,