THE METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority has asked the Department of Education to allow more schools to be used as isolation facilities.

MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos said that the isolation facilities in Metro Manila are 70 percent full.

“We are now trying to ask help from the OCD to open up more hotels, I’m writing a letter right now again—I would like to request DepEd to open up more schools for isolation facilities,” he said.

Abalos admitted that the national government has reserved schools but he stressed that there is a need for additional facilities.

“We didn’t foresee that the surge would be this huge,” he said.

“Right now we’re still coping, we’ve got 30 percent reserved, but we’re still preparing in the event that there will be more surges in the future,” Abalos said.