CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – As a measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Northern Mindanao’s capital city, Mayor Oscar Moreno said Thursday (March 19) he will ask the political leaders of Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon to coordinate with them in the implementation of the quarantine.
Moreno said there is a need to impose a community quarantine not just in Cagayan de Oro but its surrounding towns as well. He added that he has reached out to some local chief executives of Misamis Oriental, including Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano, and the others from border towns in Bukidnon, specifically Manolo Fortich, Libona, and Baungon.
He likewise told reporters that an emissary was sent to talk to Emano “to manifest our desire, our intention, and our request, for us to unite and establish a joint quarantine.”
“We must calibrate our responses,” Moreno told reporters during the daily press briefing Thursday, further saying that local government units “must not act separately, especially in the putting up of quarantine checkpoints in the borders.” He believes that by unifying the local governments’ actions, the LGUs in effect can save on resources and manpower.
He related that if Cagayan de Oro and its neighboring towns establish separate checkpoints on their respective side of the border, it will be “waste of resources and then every LGU will behave like we are a separate world. And that’s a nightmare.”
Thus, what Moreno suggests instead is for the local governments to agree on having a unified checkpoint to harmonize the operation of the police and medical personnel manning the checkpoints. Pointing out for instance, he said, Cagayan de Oro city can take charge of the checkpoint between Talakag, Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro. It would, in effect constitute what he called as “operational efficiency.”
Moreover, Moreno said, staying at home is still one of the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the provincial offices of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, League of Municipalities of the Philippines, Sangguniang Kabataan, Philippine Councilors Leagues, Association of Barangay Councils, Vice Mayors League of the Philippines, and the provincial board’s committee on health has voted in favor of the proposal to declare Misamis Oriental under community quarantine, on Thursday afternoon. (davaotoday.com)
