Mayor appeals for 10-day travel moratorium to Bacolod

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia on Sunday asked the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (NIATF-MEID) through the Regional IATF to impose a 10-day moratorium for inbound travel into Bacolod City originating from outside of Region 6.

The decision to appeal has been agreed upon by Leonardia and other City officials during an emergency meeting Saturday (April 3) to discuss more proactive measures in containing the surge of COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks.

“There is good reason for us to recommend a 10-day moratorium for travel into Bacolod given the increase in positive cases over the last two weeks, and considering also the number of cases in Manila from where many of our arrivals originate,” said Leonardia.

City Administrator Em Ang, executive director of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), reported that Bacolod has recorded 188 active cases in 14 days prior to March 30 and a 17% positivity rate from March 23 to 29.

She further reported that the number of cases multiplied fourfold — from a daily average of 4.42 cases recorded from March 7 to 20, to a daily average of 20.36 cases recorded from March 21 to April 3.

For his part, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said, “The developing situation could be much worse. We do not want to have an ECQ status again.”

Aside from the proposed moratorium, the meeting also tackled some matters geared towards controlling and containing the COVID-19 surge in Bacolod.

The City Hall executives also discussed strict implementation of the SPASS requirement for incoming passengers into Bacolod and for more strict observance of minimum health protocols at the barangay level and in major areas like markets.

Other measures also proposed were: (1) more stringent liquor ban; (2) longer curfew; (3) prohibition of “super spreader events” and mass gatherings; and (4) expanded surveillance testing. Decisions on these proposals will be forthcoming soon.

To make sure of the strict compliance with the protocols during travel into and within the City, the city officials will be meeting with members of local transport groups, including jeepney operators and drivers, trike operators, shuttle/van operators, and taxi operators. This will be done together with officers of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO).

The LTO and BTAO are tasked to monitor public utility vehicles not following the standard operating procedures during the pandemic, especially on the maximum number of passengers in each vehicle.

Barangay captains in Bacolod will also be briefed on the current situation of the city and will be mobilized to further strictly implement minimum health protocols.

Also discussed during the emergency meeting were plans to increase the medical manpower of the City Health Office, stocks of COVID-19 drugs, and supplies of PPEs and test kits.

Reports of fake RT-PCR results in some areas were raised in the meeting, too. Those caught committing this offense will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Moreover, the city government will be issuing an advisory for government and private offices to implement a skeletal workforce at least for the month of April 2021.

Meanwhile, in a related development, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas clarified that travel from Iloilo to Bacolod City and vice versa will remain unhampered in the meantime. (With a report from PIO)