Apprehensive execs to IATF: Revert Mt Province to ECQ

By Gina Dizon  

BONTOC, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE -  -  Provincial officials urged the national Inter Agency Task Force to revert its status under enhanced community quarantine from general community quarantine since neighboring provinces are under ECQ.
                They said Mountain Province has no Covid-19 cases but neighboring Benguet reached nine confirmed Covid cases while Baguio City had 29 confirmed cases.

The ten mayors of Mountain Province are not taking it easy Mountain Province having been declared as GCQ from May 1-15  by the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF).

In a resolution forwarded to the national IATF through the regional IATF, the 10 mayors of this Province requested for the reversion to ECQ status of all barangays in all municipalities of mountain province.

With the  threat of Covid-19, President Rodrigo Duterte declared  ECQ for Luzon in March 17, 2020.

               Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey, chairman of the League of Municipal Mayors- Mountain Province chapter said each mayor speaks for his respective municipality.

In their resolution, the mayors stated,  “the threat of the disease eventually entering is still far from being retreated as negligible. In fact it remains an extremely high source of concern if we are to consider that all the neighboring localities bounding the provinces except for the province of Kalinga have recorded cases of infections.”

                Mountain Province is bounded on the south by equally infected- Benguet and Baguio reached  via the Bontoc-Baguio road,  on the east by Covid - infected Ifugao reached via Bontoc-Banaue road, on the west by Covid-infected Ilocos reached via Cervantes-Tadian Road, and on the north by equally Covid-free Kalinga reached via Kalinga- Bontoc road and Covid-infected Abra reached via Balbalan Kalinga- Abra road.

Kalinga and Mountain Province were declared on GCQ  while Benguet and Baguio maintained their ECQ status effective  May 1 to May 15.

Mountain Province with 50% opening of  transport and movement of authorized persons outside residence (APOR) eases movement rendering stricter rules on border checkpoints.  

Under GCQ conditions, “road, rail, maritime and aviation sectors of public transportation will operate at reduced capacity, provided that in all public transport, a strict one-meter distance between passengers shall be observed."

                Said  mayors’ resolution stated, “the transmissibility of the disease is extremely high in that it takes only one positive carrier it infects a community en masse. Under this scenario, it is the collective sentiment of the members of the league of municipalities- mountain province that now is not the time to be complacent or to relax.”

“The mayors are aware that at this moment, they are incapable to handle the crisis which will likely emerge once an individual tests positive for the virus due to limited resources infrastructure facilities, in the preparation of quarantine facilities and meager budget. Clearly the better option is to prevent the entry of the virus rather than deal with it when it has already occurred.” the mayors stated.