The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Saturday urged barangays to form Barangay Disiplina Brigades to instill public discipline in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said establishing the brigades hopes “to drive the core message of 'BIDA ang May Disiplina: Solusyon sa COVID 19' which is individual responsibility and discipline will stop the spread of COVID-19."
He added the formation of the Disiplina Brigades on the ground level promotes the spirit of volunteerism and ensures that minimum health standards are implemented by the community themselves.
“The role of each brigade is to police their own respective communities, remind their neighbors of the need to follow the BIDA Solusyon protocols of DoH, provide factual information, and communicate the message of Bayanihan to defeat the pandemic,” Malaya said.
“Ang solusyon sa COVID-19 ay nasa ating mga kamay (The solution to COVID-19 lies in our hands). That’s the core message that should be communicated by the brigades. We are at war against COVID-19 and we must fight the enemy at the barangay level,” he added.
Malaya said the brigades are composed of volunteers who will be under the supervision of the barangay chairman.
He said the volunteers will receive no compensation for their public service.
Malaya said the brigades together with the barangay tanods will roam around the community and call the attention of quarantine violators.
He urged private companies and businesses that conducted COVID-19 testing on their employees to report the results, especially positive cases, to the local government units (LGUs) for proper assistance and monitoring.
Malaya noted the common practice among companies following COVID-19 testings on its employees is to report the results to their head offices instead of alerting the LGUs where the employees reside.
After conducting COVID-19 tests, Malaya said “it is the incumbent responsibility of the companies to report to the LGUs its result so that proper protocols set by health authorities can be followed such as contact tracing and isolation."
“Companies with large workforces were also reminded to automatically notify the various LGUs of residence of the employees who have tested positive for COVID-19,’’ Malaya said.