Mayor calls for understanding after ‘abrupt’ reversal to MECQ

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

 

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas on Friday asked for the understanding of residents and the local business sector after placing the city under the stricter Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020.

The mayor first announced the reversion to a stricter CQ measure on Thursday morning, citing a growing number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the city.

He later issued Executive Order No. 149, which immediately implemented stricter measures over the city, including the ban on holding of public gatherings, temporarily halting operations of non-essential establishments, and prohibiting the consumption and sale of alcoholic beverages.

Flights and voyages for Iloilo City-bound passengers will also be temporarily banned under the MECQ starting today, Sept 26.

On Friday, the mayor still allowed scheduled flights and voyages for Locally-Stranded Individuals (LSI) and Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROF).

The stricter measures were in anticipation of the approval of his MECQ request with the national Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).

The MECQ was finally confirmed Thursday evening after the IATF-MEID issued Resolution No. 74, granting the mayor’s request to implement the CQ status.

The MECQ took effect Sept. 25 until Oct. 9, 2020.

Treñas addressed the populace on Friday via video message uploaded to his Facebook page where he announced that the city has 2,156 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 1,590 recoveries and 530 still active cases.

“My beloved Ilonggos, it is with a heavy heart that I wish to inform you that despite the Iloilo City Government’s efforts to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases in our city, cases continued to rise, with a total of 2156 cases and 1590 recovered cases, and currently with 530 active cases. Taking the numbers into account, the COVID team, which is made up of experts in the field, including medical doctors, has recommended that our city be under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine for 15 days,” Treñas said.

The mayor stressed that the MECQ’s aim was to suppress the spread of the virus, not the livelihood of the people, even as he asked for the business sector’s understanding.

“I would like to remind everyone that this decision does not aim to further increase the impacts of the pandemic in our local economy, but rather, we are doing this for the greater good of the people. I would like to appeal to our friends in the business sector for your deeper understanding about this matter. We cannot put anyone’s health at risk for our desire to boost our local economy,” the mayor said.

He added that there will be more cases to be confirmed as the city is aiming to ramp up its testing and tracing over the course of the MECQ.

“Safety should still be our priority. The compliance team is also doing its best in ensuring that everyone’s health is maintained, and everyone should follow the minimum health standards and the imposed guidelines. But we must test people everyday, and as we test more, there is this great possibility that more will turn out to be positive. At present, we have already tested more than 27,000 Ilonggos, and it is better that we are aware of our status since many are asymptomatic and continue to go around,” the mayor said.

The mayor asked for the people’s cooperation in implementing the MECQ protocols.

“The Iloilo City community, just like the rest of the world, has been fighting a tough battle against COVID-19, and there is a need for collaborative efforts so that we can really flatten the curve and get back to the life as we all used to live. Once again, I am asking for everyone’s cooperation in implementing the protocols in [MECQ]. I understand that it is hard for many of us, but we badly need strict implementation and compliance. Above all, let us keep our faith intact.”