PR
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles and Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Saturday announced that the national government would be working with Quezon City (QC) officials to assess and to extend further assistance to areas in QC that would be placed under “special concern lockdowns,” and revealed that the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, QC City Hall, and the Department of Health (DOH) would be coordinating over the weekend to recommend the barangays that would require additional Covid-19 containment efforts.
“As I said earlier, in the interim we are looking at several specific areas of concern. While there are 25 barangays—or specific areas in these barangays—that may require special attention, no decision has been made regarding locking these barangays down. We believe that more coordinations is needed with the QCLGU, and we are here to help,” stressed Nograles.
The Palace official explained that cabinet secretaries were designated to assist LGUs in their Covid-19 response efforts, but that ultimately NCR mayors would have the final say on the steps to be taken in their respective jurisdictions.
According to Nograles, “nandito lang po kami para mag-assist kina Mayor Belmonte at para paigtingin ang koordinasyon ng national at local government.”
Nograles and Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque have been designated to assist Quezon City in line with Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) Resolution No. 62, which directed cabinet secretaries to “provide stronger support to local government units with areas identified with high community transmission” and to “monitor health system performance, critical care capacity, and stringent compliance to surveillance, isolation and treatment protocols.”
Belmonte welcomed national government efforts to augment “what LGUs have already been doing on the ground.”
“Yung dagdag na resources at yung pag-harmonize ng datos, plano, at aksyon, lahat po ito makakatulong,” said Belmonte.
The local chief executive added that officials of barangays subject to “special concern lockdowns” would be properly informed to ensure proper coordination with regard to the measures to be taken within their areas of responsibility.
“Once a barangay or area has been identified, we will make sure barangay captains are immediately informed so they can properly orient our constituents and prepare them for whatever steps we will take,” said the Mayor.
“We will make sure the support of the City is there. Hindi po natin sila gugulatin; since day one, we have been in close communicating with our barangay captains,” added Belmonte.
Nograles had earlier revealed that QC had adopted a six-step approach that is consistent with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and national government protocols.
These include (1) controlling transmissions; (2) ensuring that health capacities are in place, including testing, isolation, treatment, and contact tracing; (3) managing outbreaks in certain special settings like health facilities and urban communities; (4) imposing preventive measures in workplaces and essential places, including transportation settings; (5) managing importations; and (6) engaging, empowering, and informing communities down to the barangay level.
