Fisherman pleads: No ECQ please

By Sean Rafio

“Tani indi lang. Kay wala kami obra kag gutom gid (Don’t let them implement ECQ. We have no jobs, we will go hungry).”

This was the message of one Ilonggo fisherman to Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas after news that the metro would again be placed under the strictest form of quarantine, the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).

Bike group LpuKids ibike narrated their encounter with the fishermen along M.H. Del Pilar St. in Molo on Wednesday, July 14.

“At first, Manong was hesitant to let me take their pictures. He said, ‘ano violation ko haw? Bawal mag angkas?’ I told him ‘No Manong ah. Tahum Lang na co-sharing kamu sang migo mo mag bike to go fishing.’,” they wrote on Facebook.

The group found out that the two were grabbing their chance to catch some fish before the possible ECQ recommended for implementation by the country’s pandemic task force.

“Manong told me he is worried because it means GUTOM. He tells me ‘Lihog Lang pa abot Kay Mayor tani indi lang. Kay wala kami obra kag gutom gid (Please tell the mayor not to implement ECQ. We have no jobs, we will go hungry)’,” the group recalled their brief conversation with the two.

Ilonggos had flashbacks on Tuesday night, July 13, when media outfits reported that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) recommended the strictest form of quarantine in Iloilo City and other parts of Western Visayas for the remainder of July.

Iloilo City was placed under the ECQ from mid-March to May of 2020, which stopped 75 percent of its economy.