BONTOC, Mountain Province – Twelve contact tracers were hired by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to augment the existing Contact Tracing Team of the Bontoc Local Government Unit (LGU). Municipal Local Government Operations Officer (MLGOO) Lourdes Claire Peel introduced the 12 contact tracers during the Regular Monday Flag Raising Ceremony on October 5, 2020, at the Bontoc Municipal Capitol grounds.
According to Peel, the DILG –Provincial Office received 105 applicants for the municipality of Bontoc. Of the total applicants, it was shortlisted to 39 applicants. Three of the 39 applicants did not appear during the scheduled interview.
The shortlisting of applicants was based on their bachelor’s degree relevant to the job, preferably on allied medical courses and criminology, and experience is a plus factor.
Peel added that the hired contact tracers shall conduct case interviews, profiling, and do an initial public health risk assessment of COVID-19 cases and their identified close contacts.
Also, the contact tracers shall help in the advocacy campaign to remind the public to comply with the minimum health protocols such as the proper wearing of face mask and face shield, observance of physical distancing, practice good hygiene to include washing of hands with soap and water and sanitizing hands with alcohol.
In his message, Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey thanked the DILG for hiring contact tracers to augment the existing Contact Tracing Team of the municipality.
Odsey remarked that in as much as the Bontoc LGU wants to employ more nurses for the COVID-19 response and operations of the municipality, it is dependent on its meager budget.
The mayor added that the contact tracers hired by the DILG are a big help in the municipality’s response to mitigate the spread of the virus through timely, efficient, and effective contact tracing.
The contact tracers hired by the DILG will serve for four months from October 5, 2020, to December 31, 2020, with a monthly salary of Php 18, 784 (SG-9). By Alpine L. Killa