Philippines further eases restrictions in Metro Manila

THE PHILIPPINE capital region and nearby cities will be placed under a more relaxed alert level starting Nov. 5, according to the presidential palace.

Metro Manila will be downgraded to Alert Level 2 from Nov. 5 to 21, Palace Spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday night.

An inter-agency task force made the decision a day after the Philippines recorded its lowest single-day tally since Feb. 24.

Meanwhile, the task force has also approved a recommendation to “base the alert level assignments on data that is nearest to the implementation date,” Mr. Roque said.

Starting Dec. 1, alert level assignments per region or locality shall be determined every 15th and 30th of the month, he said.

“Escalations, on the other hand, may be done at any time in the middle of the implementation period as warranted while de-escalations can only be done at the end of the two-week assessment period,” he added. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza