NEGROS Occidental and the Bangsamoro Region will be placed under a general community quarantine (GCQ) effective May 1, government officials announced Wednesday.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson. Provincial Government of Negros Occidental PhotoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he would follow the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to place the province under GCQ instead of a week-long extended enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Lacson informed Negros Occidental mayors in a teleconference of what local government units (LGUs) should do once the ECQ would be downgraded to GCQ this Friday. He noted that those who are 60 years old and above as well as those who are 20 years old and below are still not allowed to go out. The checkpoints and border controls will continue at the LGU level, he added. Commercial establishments are allowed to operate but within a limited time frame, while malls will remain closed. Restaurants are open for delivery and take-out. “We are still waiting for the directive of the Department of Transportation with regard to the return of mass transportation under a GCQ,” he said. The GCQ implementing guidelines are being drawn as of press time. The Bacolod City Council has filed an appeal before the IATF-EID to exempt the city from the GCQ because of the pending results of suspected Covid-19 cases in the city.| “God forbid. But we see the danger of downgrading to GCQ then going back again to ECQ because our situation is still not stable to be under GCQ,” Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said. Meanwhile, the Bangsamoro Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19 will implement the GCQ in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) starting May 1. BARMM Cabinet Secretary and Bangsamoro IATF spokesman Mohd Asnin Pendatun on Wednesday said this was in accordance with the recently released guidelines of the IATF-EID, wherein low-risk and moderate-risk areas in the country shall be placed under GCQ. Pendatun said as of April 28, the Bangsamoro region was still classified under moderate-risk in terms of Covid-19 transmission as virus cases have not ballooned to unmanageable rates. Pendatun gave the assurance that the three island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi have not yet reported any coronavirus-confirmed cases. He said the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur are considered moderate-risk areas, as both have reported Covid-confirmed cases; while the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi remain Covid-free and are considered low-risk areas. ‘The new normal’ Meanwhile, with the implementation of GCQ in the country, Malacañang Palace announced on Monday that GCQ would be the “new normal” unless a vaccine for Covid-19 is ready. With this, BARMM shall also adopt the “new normal” through implementing GCQ guidelines, such as wearing of masks, restrictions for loitering, and presentation of valid identification cards for age verification.
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BACOLOD CITY – The City Council here unanimously approved during their special session on Tuesday, a resolution urgently and earnestly appealing to the National Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Emerging Infectious Diseases to allow Bacolod City government to extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until May 15. Based on a resolution authored by Councilor Renecito Novero, Mayor Evelio Leonardia issued Executive Order (EO) No. 26, placing the city under ECQ effective March 30 to April 14, and consequently extended this to April 30 through EO No. 29 due the alarming rise of confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in many parts of the country, including Bacolod. While there were only two positive patients in the city at the time the E.O. was issued on March 27, this number has, since then, increased to nine with two deaths, Novero said in the resolution. The resolution stated that there were at least 150 Bacolod residents who have undergone swab test for COVID-19, the results of which are still forthcoming. He said this presents a situation of uncertainty as to how many among them could test positive, thus, requiring immediate and extraordinary approaches for cure and control, including prevention of further infections. Novero also cited in the resolution that there were hundreds of Bacolod residents, both overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and non-OFWs who will be returning to the city beginning April 28, needing to undergo the mandatory quarantine for a period of at least 14 days in the various quarantine centers in Bacolod. In addition to these Bacolod residents returnees, there were Bacolod residents, who may have had direct contact with COVID-19 positive patients, and may need to be placed under quarantine to secure the life and health of their families and neighbors. Novero also noted that were already cases of local transmission in Barangays Banago and Villamonte, which are densely populated and would have to be contained. There being no known cure yet for COVID-19, the best and most effective approach to combat the same was prevention, Novero said in the resolution. The resolution also pointed out that other cities, like Iloilo, which may have only seven confirmed cases but was permitted to extend ECQ until May 15. “The city of Bacolod is doing its utmost to prevent the further contagion of COVID-19 among Bacolod residents,” Novero said. Bacolod City serves as the center of business and leisure in the province of Negros Occidental and even the island of Negros and the lifting of ECQ will predictably cause a sudden influx of people in the city whose number and movements may become already beyond control, as stated in the resolution. According to Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, they sent a copy of the said resolution to the national IATF and to President Rodrigo Duterte to consider and study their recommendations for the said extension. By Glazyl Masculino QUARANTINE SHUTDOWN. Stores along Araneta Street in downtown Bacolod have been closed since the enhanced community quarantine in the city took effect on March 30 to contain the transmission of Covid-19. On Tuesday (April 28, 2020), the City Council passed a resolution seeking the extension of the ECQ, which is set to end on April 30, for 15 more days. (PNA Bacolod file photo) BACOLOD CITY – The City Council of Bacolod has requested the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to grant a 15-day extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) here.
The month-long ECQ in this city is set to end on April 30, and Bacolod, which is not listed as a “high-risk” area, is expected to be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) afterward. During a special session on Tuesday, presided by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, the City Council passed a unanimous resolution “urgently and earnestly appealing to the National IATF to allow the city government to extend the ECQ until May 15.” Familiaran told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that the City Council sent a copy of the resolution to the City Mayor’s Office for the endorsement of Mayor Evelio Leonardia. “Bacolod City serves as the center of business and leisure in the province of Negros Occidental and even in the Island of Negros and the lifting of ECQ will predictably cause a sudden influx of people whose number and movements may become already beyond control,” the resolution said. As of Tuesday, Bacolod has nine confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, including two deaths. Four have recovered while two are under home quarantine. One patient is still in a hospital. According to the City Council, at least 150 residents are still waiting for their swab test results, presenting a situation of uncertainty and requiring immediate and extraordinary, if not abnormal, approaches for control and cure. Hundreds of Bacolod residents, both overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and non-OFWs, are returning to the city starting Tuesday and will have to undergo a mandatory quarantine of at least 14 days. “In addition to these returnees, there are Bacolod residents who are direct contact of Covid-19-positive patients, who must be and are now being quarantined to secure the life and health of their families and neighbors, and Bacolod residents as a whole,” it added. The resolution also said there were already local transmissions in two villages, Banago and Villamonte, which are thickly-populated areas, thus, the spread of the virus needs to be contained. “There being no known cure yet for Covid-19, the best and most effective approach to combat the same is the prevention thereof,” it added. On March 27, Leonardia issued Executive Order 26, placing Bacolod under ECQ from March 30 to April 14. The ECQ was extended until April 30, as provided in EO 29 issued by the mayor on April 8. However, the Department of the Interior and Local Government has said that only the national government has the authority to modify community quarantine levels in cities, municipalities, provinces, and regions. This means that only the IATF-EID will determine if a city, town, or province will be placed under ECQ or GCQ. (PNA) MEETING. Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, chairman of Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force, and Councilor Dindo Ramos, chair of transportation and traffic, meet with the Land Transportation Office and the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group officials and representatives of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies on Wednesday (April 15, 2020). The BPO firms have been granted a special authority by Mayor Evelio Leonardia to operate a shuttle service for their employees during the enhanced community quarantine. (Photo courtesy of Bacolod City PIO) BACOLOD CITY – Business process outsourcing (BPO) companies with call center operations here have been granted a special authority by Mayor Evelio Leonardia to operate a shuttle service for their employees during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
These firms include Teletech, Teleperformance, Transcom, Panasiatic Solutions, Ubiquity, IQOR, Concentrix, Telesynergy, and FGC+. “The special authority is issued without prejudice to the application of the BPO companies for a special permit with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and other pertinent rules and regulations,” Leonardia said in a statement on Friday. On April 15, the City Council approved Resolution No. 381, authored by Councilor Dindo Ramos, chair of the committee on transportation and traffic, granting authority to the mayor to issue a special authority to the BPO firms for the said purpose. The special authority is non-transferable and is valid only until April 30, 2020, or the effectivity of the ECQ. Leonardia signed the special authority on Thursday after vans rented by BPO firms to transport their workers were rounded up by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) for lack of special permits. On Wednesday, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, chair of the Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force Against Covid-19, asked the LTO and the PNP-HPG to explain their operations. During the meeting, it was clarified that for vehicles to be used as a means of transportation for BPO workers, the rental company needs to apply for a special permit first with the LTFRB through email provided that the vehicles already have a valid franchise. In Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, the IT-BPO industry and allied services are among the major job generators. They have a workforce of more than 32,000 employees, generating an annual income of almost PHP4 billion. (PNA) AS BACOLOD City faces the war against the coronavirus disease head on, local leaders stepped up to rise above the occasion.
One name shining through the crisis in tandem with our local chief executive Mayor Evelio Leonardia is no less than Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid M. Familiar. Familiaran once again exhibited his time-tested savviness in dealing with gigantic problems. Despite the fact that he serves as the presiding officer of the City Council of Bacolod, being the vice-mayor, he never lingered in his momentum as the chairman of the Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force against coronavirus disease. Familiaran, being used to perform executive functions in the past as the protracted punong barangay of Barangay 13, showed a leadership marked with enforcing government regulations that would save off the citizens from withering in the Covid-19 impasse. Recently, he did not flinch to curb his outrage when 57 of the persons under monitoring (PUMs) in Bacolod did not show up to get the needed medical attention and guidance. When he released his “angered term” that laid down his stern warning and a deadline to the PUMs, his cellular phone kept ringing right after. All were calls from the PUMs who came out one after the other. With such buzzer, all 57 PUMs were all accounted for within the deadline. Familiaran also immediately responded when hired vans of business processed outsourcing (BPO) companies were flagged down by Land Transportation Office for the alleged violation. But he again came in the middle along with some top officials of the city to call the attention of the LTO that the apprehension was off in the midst of a crisis and more so that public transportation was crippled in the city due to Covid-19. They reached an agreement to allow those vans to serve the BPO employees with the necessary permit issued by the LTO. Also when the time the Central Negros Electric Cooperative urged its concessionaire to pay their electric bill where the consumers crowded the Ceneco main office, it sent a tremendous alarm to the city, thus Familiaran again called the attention of the Ceneco officials to quit such manner of collecting payments from the power consumers, as it will just endanger them due to lack of social distancing. Moreover, the City Government of Bacolod is providing its affected sectors with food packs and other assistance, Vice Mayor Familiaran and his wife Portia also did a resembling effort to assist affected sectors in the city, using their own private funds. Their only son, Barangay 13 Chairman Andre Familiaran also got the awareness of President Rodrigo Duterte that he is doing well in serving his constituents. Vice Mayor Familiaran will continue to work hard for the greater good of the greatest number of Bacolodnons. “Covid is invisible, but with proper vigilance, prayers, and cooperation with the regulations set by the government, we can all help in arriving at the needed outcomes that would all bring us back to our normal lives,” he said. Indeed both the local executive chief Mayor Bing Leonardia and the legislative branches composed of our city councilors are blessed to have Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran fully committed to hold the fortress with them in this uncharted war. May the force be with them as a team for the good of the people in Bacolod. By Carla Cañet BACOLOD. Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, chair of the Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force Against Covid-19; and Councilor Dindo Ramos, chair of the SP Committee on Transportation and Traffic, preside over a meeting with Land Transportation Office (LTO) officials, led by LTO 6 Operations Division chief Atty. Allan Sacramento, and officials and representatives of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) companies, to address concerns on vehicles being used to transport BPO employees during the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Bacolod City, held at the Bacolod City Government Center Wednesday, April 15. (Photo by Richard Malihan) THE City Government of Bacolod has requested the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to defer the apprehension of van vehicles that were contracted by the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in the city.
Councilor Dindo Ramos, chairperson of the committee on transportation, said they held a meeting with the LTO, Highway Patrol Group (HPG), and BPOs representative Wednesday along with Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran to address the concern of the call center workers who were affected by the operation of the LTO in various areas of Bacolod since Monday. Some call center workers were stranded and forced to walk from their offices so they can go home Wednesday after their contracted vehicles, which were provided by their companies, were arrested by the LTO. Ramos said they asked the LTO and LTFRB to defer their apprehension until such time the van operators can comply with their requirements. He said the LTO required them to have a special permit from the LTFRB. “But how can they apply or process since they don’t have an office here (LTRFB)?” Ramos asked. “The van operators can apply through internet, but we cannot immediately determine their action. We have a mandate to protect the interest of the City of Bacolod, we know that the BPOs have a big contribution to our city in terms of job generation among others so we have to act on it,” Ramos said. He said they want to protect the safety of the BPO workers and they will not allow them just to walk from their offices or houses. Ramos also urged the BPO companies to submit a request for a special authority to Mayor Evelio Leonardia to allow them to pick up their employees from their houses towards their offices so that they can determine the number of vehicles that will be allowed to travel during the strict implementation of enhance community quarantine in the city. Familiaran was also dismayed and asked the explanation of LTO and HPG yesterday after some call center employees were forced to walk from their offices so they can go home. Congressman Greg Gasataya also said that he also talked with the LTO-6 director Eric Tabaldo and they made some agreements so that the operations of the BPOs in Bacolod will not be hampered. “I will coordinate with all the BPOs in the city on what we agreed upon,” he said. He added that LTFRB-Western Visayas director Richard Osmena also committed to him that they will issue a special permit to vans for hire being contracted by the BPOs service providers for their employees within 24 hours from the time they apply online. BACOLOD. Akbayan Youth – Bacolod distributes relief goods to 55 households at the Home for the Blind in Bacolod City recently. (Contributed Photo) MEMBERS of the Akbayan Youth – Bacolod in collaboration with the Bacolod Student Council Federation, Sangguniang Kabataan of Barangay Mansilingan and Office of Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran distributed relief goods to 55 households in Bacolod City on Sunday, April 5.
This forms part of the first wave of the “Akbayanihan Bacolod Project” at the Home for the Blind in Barangay Mansilingan. Project head Ken Paolo Gilo said the initiative is a donation drive and relief operation aimed at gathering and extending help to underprivileged communities in the city amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. “With the city-wide community quarantine, individuals in the facility are not allowed to leave the compound and procure their necessities,” he said, adding that “this is just the first wave of the project and we will identify the next community that is in need of help to be our next beneficiary.” Launched in March 25, the project was able to collect monetary donations amounting to P10,000 from different donors and also collected in-kind donations such as soap, canned goods, and face masks made of cloth. “All our donors, partners and other individuals and groups who are also taking initiatives to help communities and our frontliners are the embodiment of our trademark value of bayanihan which will gear us towards our goal of healing and rebuilding,” Gilo also said. Akbayan Youth is the youth wing of Akbayan Party-list. (PR) The Bacolod Respiratory Outpatient Center is now ready to cater patients with respiratory conditions as part of the city’s response to coronavirus disease 2019. Volunteer doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are available at scheduled hours. BACOLOD CITY PIO BACOLOD City – Forty out of 57 persons under monitoring (PUMs) who violated quarantine protocols for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have reported back to the City Health Office (CHO).
This was after Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran threatened file charges against them as chair of the city COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force. He even urged the local police and citizens to arrest these people. The CHO earlier tagged the PUMs as “lost” after follow-up, considering that they may be gone home, out of town, transferred to another barangay, and others who just checked out from the hotels being monitored per barangay. Familiaran’s Facebook post caught the attention of netizens after he warned reveal the names of these PUMs. He gave an ultimatum to the remaining PUMs to contact the CHO as soon as possible. “They won’t be sanctioned if they communicate with the CHO as soon as possible,” he said./PN PRESSCON. Mayor Evelio Leonardia (right) and Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran (left) hold a press conference via video conferencing, from the Bacolod City Government Center Monday, April 6. (Contributed photo) THE City Government of Bacolod is still evaluating the situation in the city if there’s a need to extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Bacolod.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said Monday, April 6, that Section 2 of Executive Order No. 26 states that the ECQ period in Bacolod will begin from March 30 at 12:01 a.m. until April 14 at 11:59 p.m. He said one of the considerations is their agreement with Governor Eugenio Lacson to coordinate and synchronize their plan on ECQ. “The same period of time that the province is going to implement ECQ however, in the case of Bacolod, Section 2 of EO it states that it may be extended depending on circumstances. But as of this very moment in time, we have not made yet a final decision,” he added. On March 27, Leonardia issued EO No. 26 Series of 2020 placing the City of Bacolod under enhanced community quarantine from March 30 to April 14, 2020. On Monday, Leonardia also held a meeting with Dr. Julius Drilon of Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) together with Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, the city councilors and department heads and discussed their assessment on the situation in the city. The mayor said the City Health Office personnel are also making their assessment, even the Philippine National Police (PNP) and in due time, they will make an official announcement whether to extend it or not. “I’m appealing to our people to have an open mind to consider anything because we will make a decision on the basis of our assessment and we will make sure that it is going to be a decision that we believe will be good for the City of Bacolod and will be good for each and every one of us,” he said. On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte also approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Disease (IATF) to extend the ECQ by April 30 in Luzon. Familiaran, chairman of Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force against Covid-19, said that they will wait the recommendation of the health authorities because they are expert on it. “We will wait for the result of the swab tests that were sent to Iloilo then, Mayor Leonardia can decide if we are going to lift the ECQ or to extend,” he said. He added they will consult the Negros Occidental provincial government to synchronize their moves. Familiaran disclosed that they will hold a meeting today with the Negros Occidental officials today to share their data on Covid-19 so they can make a decision to extend the ECQ or not. “PREPARE for recession.”
This was stressed by Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran when asked what scenario is shaping in the city amid the enhanced community quarantine against Covid-19 spread in an interview with SunStar Bacolod recently. “Assuming we can flatten the Covid-19 curve in the next two weeks or another month, I still think that the pandemic has already been forcing world economies to breakdown including Philippines,” Familiaran said. Citing recent World Bank and IMF reports of a fast shaping global recession, Familiaran said that “our country is quite vulnerable because we are quire dependent on export and import for practically most of our needs.” “If our trade, market, banks and financial stocks drop extensively, then drop in our service utilities, jobs, and remittances will also follow, and the government will have a harder and longer time to recover revenues and taxes, and its social protection program will also collapse,” Familiaran added. The vice-mayor asserted that the country can still cope because local economy is still largely agriculture, it just needs to provide the said sector with adequate financial, technological and marketing support. |
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