‘No time for politics in fight vs COVID-19’

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

There is no room for politics in the war against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This was the call of Mayor Jerry Treñas amid issues concerning public officials in the city and province of Iloilo.

“This is not the time for politics. Kun indi kita makasalbar tanan, wala sang pulitika nga istoryahan. Kun wala ka sa frontline kag nagapanago ka man lang, kun naga-text-text ka man lang, hipos ka na lang,” the mayor said in an interview with a local radio station.

While he refused to name public officials he was referring to, the mayor stressed that officials should instead focus on how they can help in combatting COVID-19.

“Kun gusto mo mag-frontline, palapit ka sa akon kay ibala ta ka sa kanyon,” he added.

Lone district Rep. Julienne Baronda has denied the issue of the alleged credit-grabbing on the accreditation of a COVID-19 testing center in Iloilo City.

“I will never do that credit grabbing. I am sorry kon may ara ta kakulangan. Sa tanan nga alumni and taga-University of the Philippines (UP), importante mas damo dapat ang ulubrahon naton mangita kita face masks, alcohol kesa magbinais kita sa credit grabbing,” she said in a radio interview.

Baronda also denied allegations that her staff bumped off three out of the five medical technologists in a private plane bound for Manila.

The medtechs were supposed to train on COVID-19 testing at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. The training is needed to capacitate the medtechs to start running the Covid-19 testing in Iloilo City.

Baronda said her staff only facilitated the transport of the medtechs from Iloilo to Manila.

“No one from my staff boarded the flight. I assume that only the two medtechs from Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) were allowed to fly to Manila because the three others from West Visayas State University Medical Central (WVSMC) have not yet been accredited by the Department of Health. Only two were allowed by the RITM,” she said.