BAGUIO CITY – The city government urged barangay officials to downscale or simplify the annual celebration of their barangay fiestas this year while the scheduled general assemblies will have to push through pursuant to existing marching orders from higher authorities in the light of the confirmed local transmission of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).
In an emergency meeting of the members of the city’s 128 barangay health emergency response teams (BHERTS) at the City Multipurpose Hall Tuesday, Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong requested the active involvement of barangay officials in the ongoing information education campaign to instill awareness among their constituents in the adoption of the needed precautionary measures to prevent the possible community transmission of the deadly virus and in the monitoring of people that have history of travel inside and outside the country, especially in areas with confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The emergency meeting was also attended by Councilor Michael L. Lawana, who is also the president of the Baguio City Chapter of the Liga ng mga Barangay, City Director Evelyn B. Trinidad of the Department of the Interior and Local Government–Baguio Field Office, Dr. Donnabel Tubera-Panes, Medical Officer of the City Health Services Office, among other concerned city officials.
He proposed that instead of having a grand celebration of barangay fiestas scheduled in the next several months, the same should be confined in the conduct of ecumenical services and simple program involving only their constituents rather than inviting visitors that come from other places that might complicate the situation.
Lawana reported that more than 80 barangays in the city are scheduled to celebrate their annual barangay fiestas from March to May this year.
In the case of the scheduled conduct of general assemblies pursuant to directives for the DILG central office, barangays have been requested to prioritize the discussion of the COVID-19 before tackling the agenda that had been approved to be discussed and that the schedules of the assemblies will push through as earlier planned until such time that there will be other directives that will supersede previous orders from the concerned offices.
The city chief executive underscored that barangay officials should intensify the monitoring of their constituents with history of travel not only in the identified countries with confirmed COVID-19 cases but also in the different parts of the country with similar confirmed COVID-19 assess so that they will be closely monitored by the health personnel for possible symptoms of the viral infection that is now affecting most parts of the world.
He sought the cooperation of the barangay officials to the existing policies being implemented by the local government and the health department to prevent the entry of the COVID-19 in the city and control its spread considering its expected serious impact to the prevailing living condition of the people and the state of the local economy which is now experiencing a slump due to the continuous increase in confirmed cases not only in the country but also in other parts of the world.
By Dexter A. See
