MANILA – The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) rejected the appeal of Bacolod City to be classified under the less restrictive modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Bacolod City along with Iloilo City will be under GCQ for the entire month of November.
Other parts of Western Visayas – Iloilo province, Negros Occidental, Guimaras, Aklan, Antique, and Capiz – remain under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
President Rodrigo Duterte, during his public address on Tuesday, announced the IATF-EID recommendation for Western Visayas and the rest of the country “subject for local government unit’s appeal.”
“Wala pong nagbago doon sa naanunsyo na quarantine guidelines ng ating Presidente,” said Roque, who also serves as the IATF-EID spokesperson.
“Nakabase po ang pagpapasya ng IATF sa siyensya. Hindi umaasa ang gobyerno sa ilang mga dalubhasa lamang, siguro po mga 100 po ito dahil whole-of-nation approach tayo,” he added.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia of Bacolod City earlier appealed the initial recommendation of the IATF-EID. He said Bacolod’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation can now be considered “stable,” citing the assessment of Mel Feliciano, Inter-Agency Task Force-Visayas chief deputy implementer.
Bacolod City has been under varying levels of community quarantine since March – enhanced, general and modified.
As of Oct. 29, the city had 279 active COVID-19 infections. The number of deaths, on the other hand, stood at 126./PN
