MANILA - Some members of the House of Representatives frowned at calls to place Metro Manila under lockdown, amid the rapid rise of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines.

Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo said Wednesday this is not yet the time for any lockdown, citing Health Secretary Francisco Duque III's earlier statement that it is premature for authorities to bar citizens from entering and leaving Metro Manila.

"According to Secretary Duque, there must be sustained human-to-human transmission before we impose a lockdown. So ngayon po, maliwanag naman po, na hindi pa panahon para mag-lockdown," the lawmaker said.

Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, the country's health secretary during the Aquino administration, said lockdowns are done when there is a solution to the problem.

”'Pag mag-lockdown tayo, ang ibig sabihin meron kang solusyon. Eh kung maglala-lockdown pero 'di mo naman alam ano gagawin napakahirap mag-lock down ng isa't kalahating taon," she said.

She added: "A temporary lockdown will not solve the problem dahil sinasabi nga natin 'wag magpanic. We are seeing the evolution of a new virus.”

Garin explained that China handed out subsidies to affected workers when its government ordered a lockdown in Hubei province, where the virus' outbreak started.

“Sa China, immediately upon deciding they will have a lockdown their government, subsidized the salaries of all those who will be affected. Nagrelease sila. Tayo, di natin kaya yun," she said.

Earlier in the day, the Philippines confirmed 16 new cases of COVID-19, one of whom passed away in a Manila hospital.

She was the second fatality in the Philippines, but the country's first Filipino death.

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President Rodrigo Duterte earlier suspended classes in all levels in Metro Manila from March 10 to March 14. Before that, he placed the country under a state of health emergency after cases of the virus rose rapidly.

• Duterte suspends Metro Manila classes from March 10-14 amid COVID-19 threat
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--Report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News