ILOILO City – Hotels, inns and other places of accommodation operating here should make their services exclusive to residents of this southern city.
This was the latest appeal of Mayor Jerry Treñas as authorities grapple to find spaces to isolate returning locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and repatriated overseas Filipinos (ROFs) being monitored for possible coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.
“I am appealing to all accredited establishments to make exclusive your accommodation services to residents of Iloilo City,” said Treñas in a letter released Wednesday.
Non-city residents, according to the mayor, should be referred to accommodation establishments in their respective local government units.
“Ang taga probinsya indi lang anay diri sa aton because nabudlayan na kita. Ginhawa ta ka pangita sang aton quarantine facilities,” said Treñas in an earlier statement.
Iloilo City is expecting more than 1,000 returning LSIs, ROFs and Authorized Persons Outside Residences.
Over the weekend, repatriated overseas Filipino workers arrived unannounced. There were also separate trips that transported LSIs.
According to Treñas, this further exacerbated the situation of the city which recently reverted to general community quarantine.
The number of beds in the city’s quarantine facilities, he said, is fast-depleting (to date, 349 beds available).
Treñas feared that the unregulated accommodation of ROFs could result to the depletion of the city’s resources and overburdening of the local healthcare system.
Thus, the mayor deemed it necessary for the city to solely allocate its facilities for local transmission cases and arriving residents.
He banked on the establishments’ compliance.
“I trust that you would most understand our present situation and align your prerogatives with our efforts to curb the COVID-19 transmission,” Treñas appealed.
But he warned them of possible consequences should they refuse to heed this COVID-19 intervention measure, saying the city government will be forced to take affirmative action.
Treñas cited Section 254 of the Iloilo Tax Ordinance 2007-016 which provides grounds for denial of permit.
Data from the Department of Health Region 6 showed that as of Aug. 25, this southern city has a total of 764 confirmed COVID-19 cases – 604 active, 146 recovered and 14 dead.
Yesterday, some key officials of the national government visited Iloilo to assess the city’s COVID-19 situation.
A series of meetings with the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) of Western Visayas between city and provincial chief executives were conducted.
Environment secretary Roy Cimatu, IATF deputy chief implementer for the Visayas Melquiades Feliciano, Regional Vice President of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. Atty. Valerie Anne Hollero, Presidential Adviser to the Visayas Secretary Mike Diño, and his assistant secretary Jonji Gonzales met with Treñas and the city COVID Team as well as Gov. Arthur “Toto” Defensor of Iloilo province.
According to Treñas, they discussed the rising COVID-19 cases in Iloilo City and the plans and guidelines set by the local government to ease the rise of the numbers.
The city mayor noted that 3,000 specimens in Western Visayas – which are backlogs of Iloilo City and the province – shall be forwarded to Cebu to fast track the releasing of results.
He also shared that the Malasakit Center at the Western Visayas Medical Center serving as a one-stop shop to hasten the delivery of medical services and free medicines shall be allocated P5 million a month.
Meanwhile, Feliciano will visit the COVID-19 Command Center here starting Tuesday next week to see the ongoing operations.
Diño, on the other hand, offered that they will be the one to provide three machines for the city’s Dialysis Center.
Also discussed were concerns of the city and the province on the billing of LSIs and OFWs concerning COVID-19.
After Iloilo, Diño, Cimatu and the team proceeded to Bacolod City to also assess the situation there./PN
