City to appeal quarantine  status, province ‘to wait’

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas on Wednesday said he will ask the national government to lower the city’s community quarantine status, while Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said he would wait for the official pronouncement by month’s end.

Both the city and the province are currently under the “most restrictive” Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) since July 16, 2021, together with Cagayan De Oro City and Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental.

The surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in these areas and emergence of COVID variants prompted the national government to impose ECQ in these areas until July 31.

The national government has earmarked a total of P4 billion as cash assistance to affected persons in areas under ECQ.

Treñas told Bombo Radyo Iloilo that Iloilo City has finished distributing the food packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-6 and is now distributing donations from the private sector which includes food packs from the city’s community kitchens.

Both he and Defensor have confirmed that barangay officials are quickly compiling names of recipients for swift release of the DSWD cash assistance.

But Treñas said the cash assistance is not enough for the number of affected residents at this time.

“I am happy that the national government through the DSWD will be giving P1,000, but when you think about it, P1,000 for one day, a jeepney, taxi, or sikad driver, how much do they earn in a day? If it’s just P1,000 for one month or 2 weeks, it would still be a bit difficult for them.”

He added that the economic effects of the ECQ, and the lower number of new cases daily in the city encouraged him to appeal for a lower quarantine status with the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).

The city’s positivity rate for COVID-19 is also lower than the regional average (9.5 percent as of July 25 according to the Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development).

But Treñas was unable to cite the trend of new cases as well as the city’s positivity rate to support his statements.

He also said that COVID-dedicated beds, which have kept the city’s Health Care Utilization Rate (HCUR) between high and critical risk levels, were occupied by cases from neighboring provinces of Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, and Capiz.

“We are a regional center, and unlike areas which are rural, like in [Iloilo province] or other provinces in Panay [Island] which are almost rural, when you close down our economy, many will be affected. Many of those affected are those who rely on daily earnings. When we lock down the economy, they will be affected,” Treñas said.

The mayor emphasized that even if the quarantine status were to be lowered, the city government will still seek to strictly implement quarantine measures in exchange for opening the business establishments.

He cited a recent forum which the city co-hosted where it was learned that Iloilo City contributes to 40 percent of the region’s economy.

“We believe we’re not just going to open. We believe that we will still do strict quarantine measures, but at the same time, we also need to start opening up the economy. Economists say that Iloilo constitutes 40 percent of the economy of Western Visayas. If you continue to close the economy of the city, many will be affected. While we continue to give out assistance, it will be difficult for us,” he said.

For Iloilo province, Defensor told media in a briefing that there was still no official pronouncement on its community quarantine status, and said he “would opt to wait” before appealing for a lower status.

The governor did not state his preference to stay under ECQ, but said that the ECQ and the “less restrictive” Modified ECQ were “basically the same.” He added that any community quarantine decision would be “just right” for the province.

He cited the current trends of new COVID-19 cases per day in the province which he described as plateauing.

“When you look at it in our case, the ECQ and MECQ do not have any significant differences, so we don’t have to make that much adjustment, so that is why we are not really worried about which community quarantine decision would be placed for us. Besides, our number is constant, so based on the numbers, whatever community quarantine measure is just right for us,” said the governor.

Defensor said the provincial government would nevertheless continue with campaigning for proper observance of minimum public health standards, reverse isolation, and compliance to the Safety Seal Certification Program of the national and local governments.