BONTOC, Mountain Province – Concerned sectors in the province called on employees of the provincial government, government line agencies and municipal governments to refrain from including their private business transactions with their official functions when going in and out of their areas of assignment to prevent them from acquiring the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and eventually transmitting the same in the local communities.
Sources, who requested anonymity for personal and security reasons, disclosed that one of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in the locality was part of the team that were tasked to bring home locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
However, the source stated that aside from bringing home LSIs and returning OFWs, some individuals with these tasks were allegedly using the opportunity to transport goods for their personal businesses which as not part of their official business.
The source pointed out that when going in and out of the province, concerned officials and employees must directly do their transactions and immediately proceed back to their places of origin and not ride-on their personal transactions and businesses with their official trips that will further expose them in contracting the deadly virus which actually happened in the case of one of the confirmed COVID-19 patients in the province.
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According to the source, no less than the individuals who were ferried home to the province were the ones who shared the fact that aside from them who were on board the vehicles assigned to them, there were also goods owned by some members of the team that were part of the cargo loaded in the said vehicles.
The source asserted that what happened to one of the confirmed COVID-19 patients in the province should serve as a learning experience for other individuals who are given the task to ferry LSIs and returning OFWs back to their places not to repeat such acts as they might be the cause on the possible surge of COVID-19 cases in the province.
He pointed out that the people and local governments exerted extra effort in trying to prevent the entry of the deadly virus in their areas of jurisdiction during the implementation of the community quarantine, but there were unexpected incidents that transpired along the way that eventually ruined the gains of the province in the strict enforcement of health and safety protocols that controlled the spread of the virus.
The source advised frequent travelers, especially those assigned to ferry back to the province LSIs and returning OFWs, to avoid having other transactions in Baguio, La Trinidad and other places, so as not to contract the virus.
He stated that local officials must make sure that frequent travelers should undergo the required quarantine before being allowed to report for work to avoid what happened in one of the confirmed cases in the province.
By Hent
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