Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)— The Interior Department is set to recommend a total lockdown— not just a metro-wide quarantine— of the capital region to effectively contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, its spokesperson said Monday.

"The DILG is recommending a lockdown. But that is subject to the approval of the IATF (inter-agency task force) and ultimately by the President,"Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya told CNN Philippines. "Up to now, our position has not changed. The position is a lockdown."

Malaya, in an interview with The Source, said the task force will also review the current protocols in place for Metro Manila's community quarantine, which has caused grave inconvenience to the commuting public on the first days of implementation.

READ: 'Commuting pains': Cramped PUVs, workers stranded on first work day of metro-wide quarantine

Among the issues to be discussed in Monday's task force meeting is the entry exemption policy for workers and employees, Malaya added.

"Unfortunately some of our countrymen, residents of Metro Manila still do not understand the gravity of this situation. Given that we're having a nightmare now in the checkpoints, definitely, a reassessment is in order," he said.

Malaya likewise disclosed that the department has previously pushed for the region's lockdown, but they were overruled by the majority who wanted to implement a community quarantine. He also welcomed the possibility of more "drastic measures" to be included in the safety protocols for citizens amid the rapid spread of the infectious disease.

'Community quarantine not working'

A lawmaker, on the other hand, took a swipe at the government's latest move, saying the Metro Manila quarantine order is not effective.

"It's not working, definitely it's not working," House Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Joey Salceda said in a separate interview with CNN Philippines.

Salceda pointed out that the stranded commuters— an effect of the social distancing regulatory measure for public utility vehicles— only raise the risk of infecting one another out in the open ground.

"We need all these measures to flatten out the curve para kung sakaling umakyat 'yan, umakyat 'yan sa level na kaya naman ng ospital natin, because otherwise, our entire society will be affected," he added.

[Translation: We need all these measures to flatten out the curve so that if the cases rise, our hospitals should still be able to manage them. Because otherwise, our entire society will be affected.]

The Albay Representative also called for a "work stoppage" for at least a week— to slow down the levels of transmissions of the disease. The sentiment was shared by Malaya, but the Interior official said the final call will come from President Rodrigo Duterte.

The whole of the capital region was formally placed under "community quarantine" on Sunday, as health authorities raised the highest COVID-19 alert in the Philippines last week. The chief executive, upon the government task force's recommendation, announced that people living in Metro Manila would not be allowed in and out of the region by land, domestic air travel and local sea travel, with some exceptions for the working and health sectors.

COVID-19, now considered by WHO as a pandemic, has infected more than 169,000 people in 148 different countries and territories, including China. Over 6,500 people have been killed by the disease as of Monday morning, according to the Johns Hopkins University's global tracker.

The Philippines has so far recorded 140 confirmed positive cases, including 12 fatalities.