Coronavirus: elderly backlash forces Philippines to rethink quarantine exit plan

Duterte’s spokesman prompted outrage by saying people over 60 would need to stay at home even after measures were lifted. Duterte is 75

Uproar is the latest indicator the government’s Covid-19 task force is having trouble deciding how the country should exit lockdown

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Members of the public, detained for roaming the streets without relevant passes amid the Covid-19 pandemic, are processed outside a police station in Manila, the Philippines. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:15am, 1 May 2020Updated: 9:38pm, 1 May 2020

A backlash from angry senior citizens has forced the Philippine government to back down on a plan that would have confined the elderly to their homes even after coronavirus quarantine measures were lifted for younger adults.

Uproar followed the announcement by presidential spokesperson Harry Roque last week that people over 60 and younger than 20 would be forbidden from leaving their homes even after “enhanced community quarantine” measures were lifted – set to happen on May 15 in Metro Manila but as early as May 1 in some other areas.

Angry seniors called the plan “a blacklist” and “house arrest”, with some demanding that the same restriction be applied to government officials. President Rodrigo Duterte is 75 years old and nine of his cabinet members are in their seventies.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte: no spring chicken. Photo: AP

Trade secretary Ramon Lopez sought to calm the situation on Thursday, saying there would be “no house arrest of seniors”, though he also said the guidelines had not been finalised.

The uproar is just the latest indicator that the government’s Interagency Task Force (IATF) on Covid-19 is having difficulty deciding how the country should exit lockdown.

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