By Ben Rosario

“Patently superfluous.”

This is how oppositionist Rep. Edcel Lagman (LP, Albay) described President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to ban the entry of Chinese nationals coming from Hubei province in China.

For the government to protect Filipinos from the deadly 2019 nCoV-RD, Lagman said it should, instead, bar the entry to the country of flights to and from the entire Chinese mainland, including Hong Kong.

Lagman explained that Hubei and its capital, Wuhan City, have already been subjected to lockdown by the Chinese government, thus, people have already been barred from exiting the province.

“What is imperative is to ban flights to and from the entire Chinese mainland, including Hong Kong,” he stressed in a press statement.

The veteran lawmaker chided officials for giving priority to “diplomatic niceties” over the health and safety of Filipinos.

“The health and safety of Filipinos must be paramount over diplomatic niceties, tourism revenues, and income of Philippine airline companies,” he stressed.

Duterte imposed a ban on entry of aHubei province residents after the World Health Organization declared the nCoV-ARD threat a global emergency. The chief executive had previously rejected proposals to impose the prohibition.

“Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific must suspend all flights to and from China and Hong Kong. They should stop servicing selective Chinese destinations and put on hold the current policy of merely reducing flight frequency,” said Lagman.

Also to be barred from the country are Chinese naitonals and other tourists from China aboard cruise ships and other vessesl.

The following countries, among others, have banned travel to and from China: Israel, Italy, Pakistan, Iran, Mongolia, and Singapore. Vietnam has stopped issuing visas to Chinese nationals while Armenia has suspended its visa-free travel agreement with China.

“The officials and personnel of the Bureau of Immigration must be given due recognition for their selfless dedication in manning airports and seaports despite the hazard of being contaminated with the novel coronavirus,” said Lagman.

He said: “Recognition must also be given to Filipino medical professionals who risk their own health and safety in ministering to suspected novel coronavirus carriers.”