LACK of testing kits, facilities, and medical professionals can only be offset at least for now by the strict enforcement of "stay at home" policy, said Bacolod Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran in an interview Monday, March 30.
But this necessity should be acted immediately because it is the best solution to preventing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) from reaching irreversibility level, he said. "Mass testing, identifying and containing potential hotspots, are impossible because we lack testing kits other basic medical facilities, and medical professionals; this is compounded by lack of available supply in the market," the vice mayor added. Familiaran said that "without these materials, we can't track who among the 150,000 with Home Quarantine Pass (HQP) and the 100,000 to 150,000 more given exemptions, constantly moving in the City alone, are or could be potential Covid-19 cases." "This more or less 300,000 residents are virtual hotspots, and the only quality testing kits managed by medical professionals can prevent them from becoming carriers," he added. Other measures are already in place, like the monitoring of persons under monitoring (PUM) by Bherts (Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams), the case tracking and border controls and checkpoints by Philippine National Police and local government unit personnel, and even the barangay food and relief distribution system. Familiaran said the food relief operations began Monday, March 30, and hopefully, they will be able to cover the widest number of households in few days so there would be no negative reactions on the stay at home policy, which practically deprived especially the poor of their daily sustenance. The vice mayor also expressed some frustrations because the current crisis has exposed the insensitivity, lack of care and lack of discipline of many of our people. "I understand fully well the predicaments of our people especially the poor, but in this time of crisis, they should also demonstrate their cooperation with the government in undertaking preventive measures, instead of insisting their own ways of life," he said. Despite the odds, Familiaran remained positive saying "giving up is not an option, cooperation is a must, and by God's grace we will overcome this."
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BACOLOD City – Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran expressed his dismay over the supposed discrimination of hospital and health workers from the local community just because they are at the frontlines of the efforts to battle the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This was after a group of the employees of the RMC asked the intervention of the provincial government of Negros Occidental due to the discrimination they have been getting. “Indi sila dapat pag i-discriminate kay kon ma burnout na sila kag kon magmasakit wala na sang may matatap pa sang pasyente sa ospital,” stressed Familiaran, who chairs the local inter agency taskforce against the viral disease. In a letter made by Riverside Medical Center (RMC) Corporate Communications head Chuck Estrella and addressed to Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, some of their employees were denied rides by pedicab or jeepney drivers after the first COVID-19 positive patient was admitted at the facility. Coffee shops also reportedly denied entry for RMC medical staff and some were even verbally harassed by police officers. They also received reports that some landlords and neighbors of these medical workers are ordering their staff to vacate the premises fearing possible contamination. “After all the sacrifices they make, including risking their lives, this is what we expect them to face?” Estrella questioned. In another letter made by Dr. Connie Rose Benjamin of the Philippine College of Physicians-Negros Occidental, she urged Lacson to intervene over the matter pointing out not all medical personnel in the said hospital have been exposed to the COVID-19 positive patient. She pointed out that even before the patient tested positive for the ilness, the patient had already been placed in an isolation room, and the medical staff who did get exposed are already on quarantine. Benjamin further pointed out that the public should discriminating medical workers, as they also need mental and emotional support. According to Familiaran the RMC should find a way to solve the problem of their employees by providing them transportation, a quarters for the night shift personnel. He said that the city has several buses of the Vallacar Transit Inc. but they being utilized to transport frontliners of the city government deployed at check points around the city./PN BACOLOD City – Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran expressed his dismay over the supposed discrimination of hospital and health workers from the local community just because they are at the frontlines of the efforts to battle the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This was after a group of the employees of the RMC asked the intervention of the provincial government of Negros Occidental due to the discrimination they have been getting. “Indi sila dapat pag i-discriminate kay kon ma burnout na sila kag kon magmasakit wala na sang may matatap pa sang pasyente sa ospital,” stressed Familiaran, who chairs the local inter agency taskforce against the viral disease. In a letter made by Riverside Medical Center (RMC) Corporate Communications head Chuck Estrella and addressed to Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, some of their employees were denied rides by pedicab or jeepney drivers after the first COVID-19 positive patient was admitted at the facility. Coffee shops also reportedly denied entry for RMC medical staff and some were even verbally harassed by police officers. They also received reports that some landlords and neighbors of these medical workers are ordering their staff to vacate the premises fearing possible contamination. “After all the sacrifices they make, including risking their lives, this is what we expect them to face?” Estrella questioned. In another letter made by Dr. Connie Rose Benjamin of the Philippine College of Physicians-Negros Occidental, she urged Lacson to intervene over the matter pointing out not all medical personnel in the said hospital have been exposed to the COVID-19 positive patient. She pointed out that even before the patient tested positive for the illness, the patient had already been placed in an isolation room, and the medical staff who did get exposed are already on quarantine. Benjamin further pointed out that the public should discriminating medical workers, as they also need mental and emotional support. According to Familiaran the RMC should find a way to solve the problem of their employees by providing them transportation, a quarters for the night shift personnel. He said that the city has several buses of the Vallacar Transit Inc. but they being utilized to transport frontliners of the city government deployed at check points around the city./PN Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran THE lockdown or enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) should be implemented in the entire Negros Island.
This was stressed by Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran Wednesday, March 25, after Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier announced that there will be a 14-day lockdown or enhanced community quarantine in Negros Occidental next week. “If we implement a lockdown, it should be the entire Negros Island and how I wish that the Negros Oriental will also go with us because our efforts will be useless if we don’t have the participation of Negros Oriental,” Familiaran said. Familiaran, chairman of Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force against coronavirus disease (Covid-19), said Negros Oriental is connected to Negros Occidental so anybody can exit and enter the province. “So it’s better to have enhanced community quarantine in the entire Negros Island and not only in Bacolod City or Negros Occidental. The fastest and the best solution to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19, is to have enhanced community quarantine or lockdown,” he said. Once the province will issue the executive order for the implementation of lockdown the City Government of Bacolod will also do the same, he added. The meantime that the province is preparing for a lockdown, it was agreed that a uniform curfew will be implemented throughout the province which will be from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. “I just want to assure the public that even if we have to go through the enhanced community quarantine, food supply will be available and it’s not that people cannot go out anymore from their respective homes,” Lacson earlier said. He said there will always be a person from each house allowed to go out and buy groceries. The villages will issue a quarantine pass in every household. “We will also make sure that cargoes will continue especially food, medicines and other essentials. We will also make sure that even our sugar industry will continue to mill because it is very important. If we have the sugar industry continue milling, there is at least employment for our people,” Lacson said. “There is no reason to panic. What we are limiting here is the movement of people,” he added. By MERLINDA A. PEDROSA Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran THE lockdown or enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) should be implemented in the entire Negros Island.
This was stressed by Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran Wednesday, March 25, after Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier announced that there will be a 14-day lockdown or enhanced community quarantine in Negros Occidental next week. “If we implement a lockdown, it should be the entire Negros Island and how I wish that the Negros Oriental will also go with us because our efforts will be useless if we don’t have the participation of Negros Oriental,” Familiaran said. Familiaran, chairman of Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force against coronavirus disease (Covid-19), said Negros Oriental is connected to Negros Occidental so anybody can exit and enter the province. “So it’s better to have enhanced community quarantine in the entire Negros Island and not only in Bacolod City or Negros Occidental. The fastest and the best solution to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19, is to have enhanced community quarantine or lockdown,” he said. Once the province will issue the executive order for the implementation of lockdown the City Government of Bacolod will also do the same, he added. The meantime that the province is preparing for a lockdown, it was agreed that a uniform curfew will be implemented throughout the province which will be from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. “I just want to assure the public that even if we have to go through the enhanced community quarantine, food supply will be available and it’s not that people cannot go out anymore from their respective homes,” Lacson earlier said. He said there will always be a person from each house allowed to go out and buy groceries. The villages will issue a quarantine pass in every household. “We will also make sure that cargoes will continue especially food, medicines and other essentials. We will also make sure that even our sugar industry will continue to mill because it is very important. If we have the sugar industry continue milling, there is at least employment for our people,” Lacson said. “There is no reason to panic. What we are limiting here is the movement of people,” he added. AS THE fight against coronavirus disease (Covid-19) overwhelms everyone, the disinfection of Bacolod streets continues, an undertaking initiated by some well-meaning individuals in the city in partnership with the Chamber Volunteer Fire Brigade and the Local Government of Bacolod City.
Jo-an Dueñas and Jazmin Egan have first initiated the donation of disinfectants and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) in some areas outside of Bacolod before they replicated it in the city. These areas include La Carlota City, Toboso, Cadiz, Calatrava, Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (Provincial Hospital in Silay) and to Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital. As a private initiative, they want to sustain the endeavor but they can only sustain the effort with the help of their well-meaning collaborators that led to their partnership with the Chamber Volunteer Fire Brigade through Bryant Lao. Dueñas said they will continue the disinfection of Bacolod roads until Friday and a team of volunteers from the Chamber are doing the job. All these disinfection initiatives were properly coordinated with Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and City Administrator Em L. Ang. She said every trip that they perform, they utilized 2,000 liters of disinfectants. As of March 24, their inventory of disinfectants will be good until Friday, March 27, she said. The disinfection of Bacolod roads started last Sunday. They plan to continue the disinfection once their inventory of disinfectants will be good for additional days. They thanked those who helped them realize this undertaking but preferred not to be named. They are also appealing to the public to also do their share in cleaning up their surroundings as this will make a big difference in the fight against Covid-19. BACOLOD CITY: Uncooperative individuals are hampering the ongoing contact tracing of the city government, Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said on Monday.
Familiaran, who also chairs the city’s Inter-Agency Task Force against Covid-19 (IATF), said this non- cooperation is “a setback” as authorities are tracking down individuals who came into contact with the first coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive patient. The vice mayor said the individuals are not cooperating with either the barangay officials or the barangay health emergency response teams, saying they prefer to talk with the task IATF because their businesses would be affected. However, Familiaran told them that “human life is far more important than their revenues.” Based on information gathered by the city officials, “Patient 1” visited five places in the city which was already being disinfected. Meanwhile, Dr. Jane Juanico, head of the Infections Disease Cluster of the Department of Health-Western Visayas (DoH-6), said “Patient 1”, a 56-year-old man, is reported to be in an “improved health condition” and showing signs of recovery. Despite the improving health condition, Juanico said the patient is required to undergo another round of tests to determine if the virus is completely gone and he may be discharged. Based on the patient’s travel history, he recently visited the United Kingdom and arrived home on February 29. By Euegene Y. Adiong BACOLOD CITY: Uncooperative individuals are hampering the ongoing contact tracing of the city government, Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said on Monday.
Familiaran, who also chairs the city’s Inter-Agency Task Force against Covid-19 (IATF), said this non- cooperation is “a setback” as authorities are tracking down individuals who came into contact with the first coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive patient. The vice mayor said the individuals are not cooperating with either the barangay officials or the barangay health emergency response teams, saying they prefer to talk with the task IATF because their businesses would be affected. However, Familiaran told them that “human life is far more important than their revenues.” Based on information gathered by the city officials, “Patient 1” visited five places in the city which was already being disinfected. Meanwhile, Dr. Jane Juanico, head of the Infections Disease Cluster of the Department of Health-Western Visayas (DoH-6), said “Patient 1”, a 56-year-old man, is reported to be in an “improved health condition” and showing signs of recovery. Despite the improving health condition, Juanico said the patient is required to undergo another round of tests to determine if the virus is completely gone and he may be discharged. Based on the patient’s travel history, he recently visited the United Kingdom and arrived home on February 29. We must stand united as a community and a nation despite our frustrations on how our national government and local governments are responding to the COVID-19 crisis especially now that we have a positive case in our city.
We laud the efforts of our officials and government agencies if merited, but it should not also stop us from calling them out if we feel they can do more in preserving our safety and yes, our sanity. What we feared the most has come true and perhaps, people will now take this virus seriously and heed the advice to stay indoors if at all possible. With the identification of the case, those who attended to the patient are immediately PUIs as well as family members and with the info gathered that the patient arrived some three weeks ago, contact tracing of those he had been in contact with might be next to impossible especially as the said patient is allegedly asymptomatic and still is. But while the frustration appears to be mounting against our public officials, especially in the absence of test kits, we also have to acknowledge the many who are silently working without needing public acknowledgment. Even those who are publicly documenting their assistance, perhaps for political advancement, for as long as they are helping in the war against COVID-19, let praises be heaped upon them. Just like Sen. Manny Pacquiao who has unabashedly posted on social media his distribution of surgical masks and announced the supposed arrival of 50,000 test kits with the help of Alibaba founder, Jack Ma. Many find it distasteful especially with rumors that the boxing champ is eyeing the presidency come 2022. Well, I can’t stop my eyes rolling but I’m still grateful if those test kits do arrive. That’s still way better than what the national government is doing, or the lack of it, in response to this crisis. Since we are on a self-imposed quarantine, many of us turn to social media as the most active venue at the present to communicate information, concerns and the dreaded fake news and propaganda. And by far, topping the list of shared articles are stories of what the young and dynamic mayors in Metro Manila who have the foresight of preparing for the worst case scenario in their towns and cities. Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora and Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian have shown us that things are possible if the chief executives have a grasp of what can happen in the event that more and more patients turn up positive. Here in Bacolod, Mayor Bing Leonardia is being bashed online because he has not been that visible compared to the public presence of Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and Rep. Greg Gasataya who used social media as well to inform the public of what they have been doing. Of course, the bashing may not be meritorious because I’ve seen Mayor Bing conduct press conferences to update the people and yes, El Cid is more visible because he heads the city’s Inter-Agency Task Force. But, I totally understand where people are coming from because in this time of crisis, we always look up to the highest elected official to provide the leadership even if only to allay fears and make the residents feel secure. Our national leadership has miserably failed in that and so we look upon our local officials to give us an assurance that they are truly on top of the situation. Rep. Greg’s announcement that test kits are forthcoming is being shared widely and has somehow given us hope. Gov. Bong Lacson also said that test kits will arrive Saturday and more admirable are efforts from the private sector who are trying to negotiate the bringing in of test kits too and even the equipment to allow us to do the testing here immediately. Hopefully, more will follow. It may not be right to compare one form of leadership to another, but as I’ve mentioned then, this crisis will be a test of leadership for all and if and when we surpass this, actions or the lack of it will be remembered by the public in the next election (unless we again will have short memories that can be bought by the blue-colored bill.) I was listening to the interview of Mayor Gatchalian yesterday and how his city has been preparing for any eventuality from converting facilities into isolation buildings for positive patients to scheduled distribution of food. It made me appreciate the foresight of Gov. Bong Lacson to convert St. Anne’s Hospital into an isolation hospital because if many will turn out positive, the provincial hospital in Silay may not be able to accommodate these patients while tending to other cases as well. That thought made me cringe as to what will Bacolod do when that time comes especially with one positive case now? We only have the regional hospital as a government health facility in the city and even without the crisis, that hospital is already facing a deluge of cases they have to attend to because our city does not have its own hospital. Are there negotiations with private hospitals here or hotels to convert theirs into an isolation building as others have been doing in Manila? Is this issue even being discussed among city health officials and our city officials? I have been harping about our lack of a city hospital but unfortunately, officials have been focused on building a coliseum and museums. With this crisis, will there be a change of heart and plans? But again while the action or lack of it from our officials bring frustration, it is but right to also laud the efforts of those who are really doing something, small or big, to help this fight. Gov. Bong and Vice-Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer, along with provincial administrator Ray Diaz and former Rep. Albee Benitez merits a shout out for facilitating the return of Negrenses who were stuck in Clark, Pampanga for days even if one of the passengers was idiotic enough to run away. I heard that guy will face charges post the quarantine period and if so, he will have an extended vacation, not in Mambukal, but in jail. I was in close contact with Rotarian Amelyn Bravo who became the conduit of those passengers to the province and to other Rotarians in Pampanga who mobilized to deliver water, Jollibee hamburgers, sanitizers, face masks and allow me to personally thank Past District Governor Jess Nicdao of RC Western Pampanga, Past President Susan Czudai of RC Angeles Kuliat, Past President Lito Mercado and President Joy Cangco of RC Balibago along with Chris Cangco and Jennifer Eliazar. Our people will always be thankful for your help. Allow me to make mention also of PMSg Renlo Jaen and Pat. Willyfredo Victoriano of Bac-up 4 for immediately responding to a problem we had in our community recently. When we have alert law enforcers, it makes us feel a bit safe that we can rely on them when needed. Lastly, a huge shout out to the doctors and interns of CLMMRH who organized themselves to form the Home Quarantine Food Packs which are now being followed by groups in Cebu and Makati. Like them, we can do something if we stay united, if we spread care.* The city inter-agency task force against the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) intercepted a bus with an Australian national and a Filipino companion on board at the border of Bacolod and Talisay cities yesterday. Bacolod Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, chair of the city’s inter-agency task force against the novel coronavirus disease (COVI-19) yesterday said the foreign national and his companion came from Cadiz City. They left Manila last March 14 taking a bus to Batangas and arrived in Kalibo during the weekend. Familiaran said the two plan to proceed to Sipalay but were asked to return to their place of origin. He said the total persons under investigation (PUIs) in Bacolod City remains at 11 while the total persons under monitoring (PUMs) has reached 410. BACOLOD REMAINS COVID-FREE On Tuesday, the mayor issued Executive Order No. 22 or “An order for the Implementing Rules and Regulations of E.O. 21, series of 2020,” which include the establishments of check-up points in strategic areas in the city under the sound determination of the police, assisted by the Philippine Army and the Bacolod City Health Office, to check vehicular/pedestrian traffic for effective control of the quarantine measures. Starting Friday persons from out-of-town should present company IDs or pertinent documents upon entering Bacolod City. The E.O. also ordered the observance of stringent social distancing. This was implemented during the 38th regular session of the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City yesterday as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19. Familiaran said that starting yesterday all technical assistants and staff of the city councilors will be prevented from entering the session hall. They can only be contacted by the councilors through text messaging. The sitting arrangements of the councilors were also adjusted in compliance to the order of the mayor to observe social distancing. Familiaran said the SP session can be viewed through facebook live in the page of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City.* BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO |
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