BACOLOD CITY - Mayor Evelio Leonardia is asking for the cooperation of the Bacolodnons after many of the residents here were surprised by the pronouncement of Malacañang on Monday night, placing the city under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
“With caution and optimism, let us face this problem squarely,” Leonardia said.
Many netizens expressed their concern on social media, as many were worried how they could survive the stricter lockdown measure in the city from September 8 to 30.
Leonardia appealed for the understanding of the people while no specific guidelines under the new quarantine status were issued yet.
Leonardia said city officials are scheduled to meet with assigned Cabinet officials, led by Environment Sec. Roy Cimatu, here on Wednesday, September 9, to assess and evaluate the situation.
However, because the resolution was already released by the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Monday night, Leonardia said that “the only thing we can do now is to implement it”, adding that local government units (LGUs) must take instructions from the NIATF.
He said that placing Bacolod under MECQ was for the good of everybody, although he stressed that there will be inconvenience and adjustments, which the people should regard as temporary, to achieve the goal of arresting the spread of the virus here.
He also said the action of the national government was part of the immediate response of President Rodrigo Duterte in the city’s earlier call for help to address the rising number of COVID-19 cases here, which is now pegged at 1,925, including 27 deaths and 720 recoveries, as of September 7.
“With the help, wisdom, expertise, and experiences of these people, we can all together benefit from this,” the local chief executive said.
Cimatu and his team were earlier dispatched to Cebu to also address the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases there.
“We need to support what we think is best for us in the fight against COVID-19,” the mayor said.