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Philippines Declares Coronavirus Emergency Amid State of 'Warfare'

VOA News

   The Philippines has declared a state of emergency, allowing it to
   comply with stricter COVID-19 measures taken by neighboring countries,
   but also causing human rights worries, such as the use of dog cages to
   detain curfew violators.
   Lawmakers passed legislation Tuesday granting emergency powers to
   Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, including the power to commandeer
   private hospitals and ships, order the transport and housing of health
   workers, and reallocate the state budget to give families financial
   aid.
   The nation was not as fast as others in Southeast Asia to cancel
   flights, close schools, and restrict movement. With coronavirus
   infections spiking in mid-March, however, Manila determined past
   measures were not enough, and it became the first in the region to
   order a national lockdown.
   This week's legislation also includes measures to expedite the approval
   of virus test kits, shift private medical expenses to the state budget,
   and secure supplies of medical goods, food, and water.
   "Nothing is more important now than your cooperation. I repeat: 'Stay
   at home,'" Duterte told citizens Tuesday. He added, "The outcome of
   this war depends largely on you as well."
   His choice to take a warlike posture against COVID-19 has come under
   fire as critics worry about the threat to civil liberties. The
   president appointed ex-military men to lead the National Action Plan
   against coronavirus.
   Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo defended the appointments as
   necessary to "the maintenance of peace and order."
   "We need the PNP [Philippine National Police] and the military as they
   have the discipline, the organization, the manpower and the equipment
   to implement the measures that the government has established," he
   said.

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