Mayor issues ‘no-objection’ to F2F classes amid COVID

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas on Thursday formally issued his support for the resumption of face-to-face classes, even as the city sees a fresh surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

Treñas issued Executive Order No. 63 series of 2022 on Thursday, declaring no objection to all physical classes in public and private schools.

“The City Government of Iloilo does not interpose any objection to all applications for face-to-face classes in all private and public schools and educational institutions including the conduct of other learning activities in Iloilo City,” reads the E.O.’s Section 1.

The mayor explained to Daily Guardian in a phone interview that he issued the executive order so as to consolidate his response to the multiple requests made by the schools.

“One of the requirements for allowing face-to-face classes is the approval coming from the local government unit, and we are giving that. This is for all [schools]. What had been happening is that schools are asking one by one, so we did it wholesale,” the mayor said.

In case a learner shows symptoms of or is confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, he said that in accordance with Department of Health protocol, they would be placed under quarantine depending on their vaccination and symptom status.

“We are following Department of Health protocol, that they would be placed under quarantine for so much number of days depending on whether [or not] they are vaccinated or they have had booster [shots], or whether or not they are symptomatic or asymptomatic,” he said in a phone interview.

Treñas emphasized the need to return to physical classes, citing the country’s standing in terms of educational competencies in mathematics and science.

He said that the city government is considering bringing COVID vaccinations to schools to reduce risks of contracting the virus.

“We will act accordingly, but in the meantime, we have the lowest [competency rates] even before the pandemic in science, math, and English. But ever since we have had modular and online [learning], we have gone lower. For me, it is really time to work in the new normal,” he said.

As to the rise of COVID cases, the mayor said that the recent surge was inevitable, citing a similar rise in other places in the country and worldwide.

“We just have to live with this, but our health care utilization rate is not rising because cases now, are at most either asymptomatic or mild, none of them are severe or moderate. We are monitoring it, but it is really about time for students to go back to school,” he stated.

The Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development’s (DOH-WVCHD) latest case bulletin report indicated that the city logged 31 new cases as of June 30, the latest of a string of double-digit cases logged by the city since June 12.