Kalinga braces for arrival of 7K stranded residents

By Jesse Maguiya  

TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The provincial government is getting ready for the possible arrival of some 7,000 province mates after the general community quarantine (GCQ) took effect April 30.

During a meeting of the provincial inter-agency task force for emerging and re-emerging diseases, lone district Rep. Allen Jesse Mangaoang said even the province is under GCQ, they must not let their guards down starting May 1.

There are some 7,100 persons expected to return to Tabuk and the municipalities in the coming days after being stranded in different places outside the province due to the community quarantine.

Most of them are students who are in Baguio City and in Metro Manila.

              Tabuk City is expecting around 1,200 residents to return.

“Our fight against the Covid (coronavirus disease) will only start on May 1,” Mangaoang said in the vernacular, noting that Kalinga is included in the list of provinces that will shift to GCQ from enhanced community quarantine.

There are 1,100 barangay isolation units that have been prepared to accept persons on mandatory quarantine. Gymnasiums, school buildings, barangay halls are being also converted to isolation facilities.

The provincial IATF reported that there are 1,500 beds and 700 of them are located here.

Tabuk Mayor Darwin Estranero said local chief executives should assign personnel at the checkpoint in Talaca to identify those who will be returning home.

               Meanwhile, Rizal town Mayor Karl Bugao said they are almost 100 percent in their preparation on their isolation units and they have appropriated P1,000 each for the repatriation of their constituents.

Balbalan town Mayor Eric Gonayon, on the other hand, reported that they have 535 isolation rooms to accommodate 435 returning constituents.

Tinglayan town mayor Sacrament Gumilab said 23 schools are prepared for107 residents who are coming home after undergoing a rapid test for Covid-19.

               He said they purchased 500 rapid test kits for that purpose.

He said that while they discourage their residents to come home at this time, they have to be received when they are already at the border.

Pasil Mayor Alfredo Malannag said that they have asked the IATF that they will stay under ECQ as they are not ready yet for the influx of their returning constituents. Around 700 will be returning to the town, including 252 students.

He, however, said the barangay isolations units are identified but the water and other facilities are not yet in place because hardware materials are not available even in Tabuk.

Lubuagan Mayor Charisma Ann Dickpus reported that they have accounted for 187 stranded constituents through social media excluding those who have not been monitored of their locations.

"They can come home if they want but we will not fetch them,” Dickpus said.

Provincial Police director, Col. Russel Job Balaquit asked all the mayors to craft an ordinance on social distancing and mandatory wearing of face masks as a measure to prevent transmission of Covid-19 by possible carriers. (PNA)