‘Lesser evil’: Gov’t defends its decision to cram thousands of stranded Filipinos in a stadium

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The government explained that they “chose the lesser between 2 evils” when they put thousands of stranded Filipinos in a stadium in Manila to shelter them from the rains while risking the spread of the novel coronavirus due to lack of physical distancing.

The Hatid Tulong program was rolled out to help people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic and bring them home to their provinces. Initially, the planwas to test the beneficiaries for the virus at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex before their trip home. 

However, registered beneficiaries spread word of the program to other locally stranded individuals (LSIs) who all went to the stadium without pre-registering, said Hatid Tulong lead convener Presidential Management Staff Assistant Secretary Joseph Encabo.

“Doon po mas vulnerable sila sa sakit, lalong-lao na iyong mga bata, mga buntis, senior citizens at PWDs: Dahil po sa pagbagsak ng ulan, talagang kailangan naming maisilong ang mga tao,” he told ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo. 

[They are more vulnerable to the disease there, especially the children, pregnant women, senior citizens and PWDs: Because of the rain, we really needed to shelter the people.]

“We have to choose between 2 lesser evils here,” he said. 

Some 3,400 people had already traveled to their provinces as of 11 p.m. Sunday, leaving around 1,200 LSIs at the arena, he said. 

Authorities will seek partnerships with the private sector to augment “limited” transportation assets. The government is also eyeing a “cluster” send-off so that there will be fewer travelers at a time and is looking for a bigger venue to accommodate beneficiaries before their trips, said Encabo. 

“We believe in the competency of these government agencies that are helping us right now. It is a whole-of-government approach… We are very confident that we can do it better,” he said. 

House committees to hold hearings during break

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Spread the loveMANILA – The House of Representatives has authorized for its committees to conduct hearings during the five-week congressional break, extending until late April.

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