Iloilo City to appeal GCQ retention, wants to slide to MGCQ

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas will appeal the recommendation of the national Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to retain the city under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) after May 31, the only area in Western Visayas to be so.

In a press conference, Treñas said his appeal will cover NIATF’s Resolution No. 40, which recommended all provinces in the region and Bacolod City to shift towards a Modified GCQ.

“We want to appeal the decision of the IATF which was made yesterday regarding the status of the Iloilo City. We are preparing the appeal, and we are trying to send it before the day is over. We will come up with the justification very soon,” Treñas said Thursday.

The mayor said that his appeal is based on the city government’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) responses.

The city’s most recent confirmed COVID-19 case was announced on May 17.

“Our grounds are our health standards. We have 60 people trained for contact tracing. We have cars which transport [COVID-19 testing] specimen. We have people trained to extract [specimen] through swabs. We have isolation centers. All [Intensive Care Units] are in the city. We are even the ones training others for testing. We are now in the process of preparing our own laboratory,” Treñas said.

The mayor also cited COVID-19’s economic impact in the region, saying that Iloilo City suffered the most losses.

“When we look at the economic side, the entire region has experienced great losses. These losses are due to the city not being able to open. We have to really push to re-open,” the mayor said.

He said that the city’s businessmen are planning to make their case to the IATF separately.

“We have our group of businessmen [from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry] who will also have their own appeal. We all know that Iloilo is the center of Region 6, and all the jobs are found here. If we want our economic activities to slowly move forward, we have to make sure that we have the same classification as other places in the region,” the mayor said.

He asserted his intention for the city to shift to the MGCQ, saying that more activities will be allowed and ultimately revive the city’s economy.

“I think there are many things we can do under the MGCQ. First, church masses will be allowed. Second, businesses which have been closed down can re-open. Third, the volume of the people engaged in businesses can increase. If you ask me, I would really want to go to MGCQ,” he said.

He said that he will also bring up the city’s GCQ status during an online meeting with the governors.

“I’m meeting with the governors. We’ll start talking about the plans for June. In case Iloilo will remain in GCQ and the rest will be in MGCQ, we will discuss our plans. We will also discuss our plans if our appeal will be granted,” he said.

He assured residents that through their cooperation, the city can exit the GCQ sooner.

“In the meantime, we are asking for continued cooperation so we can make sure we can exit the GCQ faster. Hopefully, the IATF listens to our appeal. We really want to move out of the GCQ because we want additional activities we can allow for the people,” he said.

 

 

PAY CUTS, TAX AMNESTY

Treñas also announced cuts to daily wages of the city government’s job hires starting June 1.

Job hires will receive a reduced daily wage of P 400.

“[The cuts] will start on June 1. We are deducting not because we want to, but because we have to. This is one of the results of the quarantine we implemented. Payments due were haven’t been paid yet, and our finance department has extended payment deadlines up to June 25,” he said.

The city government is also drafting guidelines for the tax amnesty on real property and business taxes.

“For the first time, we are preparing amnesty for land tax and for business taxes up to October. I think that is the first time we have had such amnesty since I became a City Councilor, and that was already a long time,” he said.