Humihirit si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa Commission on Elections na maglabas ng direktiba sa pagtatakda ng guidelines sa mga campaign sorties at motorcades.
Ito ay para masiguro na masusunod ang physical distancing at iba pang health protocols na itinakda ng pamahalaan kontra COVID-19.
Sa Talk to the People ng Pangulo, sinabi nito na mayroong national emergency na kinakaharap ang bansa.
“I’d like to call the attention of the Comelec. Kayo man ang ano ngayon, you are the ones supervising the elections. As a matter of fact, you are the one running the show. Hindi ba ninyo…? Could you not just issue a — i-maintain lang ‘yung social distance? Hindi na paano — gaano karami. Punuin mo ‘yung Luneta, as long as you maintain the regulations imposed by government kasi mahirap po ito kung magbalik. It might come back with vengeance,” pahayag ng Pangulo.
Nababahala ang Pangulo na posibleng tumaas ulit ang kaso ng COVID-19 sa bansa kung babalewalain lamang ng taong bayan ang mga itinakdang health protocols.
“Babalik itong sakit na ito baka magrabe pa. We are not out of the woods. The virus is still there. Iyong status natin na national emergency nandiyan pa. So hanggang — hanggang talagang safe na, the doctors will say and the scientists will tell us that it is safe to move around and go out and mingle again in a crowd, well, hintayin muna natin ‘yan. In the meantime, let us not presuppose that since there has been a vaccine available to all, do not ever, ever presume na wala na ‘yung danger of recontamination,” pahayag ng Pangulo.
“Remember that we are still in a pandemic situation and any large gathering may trigger a superspreader event. While we welcome these exercises as concrete and tangible manifestations of our healthy democracy, kindly temper your enthusiasm and act reasonably,” dagdag ng Pangulo.
Matatandaang dinumog ng mga taga-suporta ang motorcades nina dating Senador Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Senador Manny Pacquiao.