Some 34,057 COVID-19 contact tracers have already been deployed in various areas while 23,974 others are undergoing training, said Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año during his report to the President Wednesday evening.
Out of the 64,422 applicants, Año told the President that 41,068 were qualified adding that the additional 50,000 contact tracers will be filled up within October.
The hired contact tracers will receive P18,784 per month under a contract of service status.
Año reported to the President the much improved governing prowess specifically of the local chief executives (LCE) as they became at the forefront in the battle against the virus.
He explained that the LCE are now fully aware that they would not get re-elected if the COVID-19 cases in their respective turfs continue to rise.
Only recently, Año said that a three day ‘’Philippine Local Government Forum” was conducted that focused on “good governance delivery of services amidst the pandemic.’’
Año also reported that the number of approved telecommunication applications have increased from 1,171 last week to 1,215.
He assured that all other telecommunication pending applications will soon be approved.
In August, President Duterte ordered all local government units (LGUs) to approve within three days the application of telecommunication companies to build cell towers.
Año assured that all illegal drugs will be destroyed in compliance with the President’s order last week.
“More or less ay sa PNP (Philippine National Police) po 369.69 kilos ang ide-destroy natin tomorrow (Oct 15). At ang natitira naman pong 700 kilos ay ipini-prepare po namin habang hinihintay namin ‘yung order galing sa korte, naka-ready na rin po ito (More or less in the PNP 369.69 kilos will be detroyd tomorrow. The remaining 700 kilos are being prepared while waiting for the court order),’’ Año said.
“Bago pa po dito, actually po noong August 21, 2020 ay nag-destroy na po tayo ng: ang PNP po ay 1,200 kilos or 1.2 tons; ang PDEA po ay 600 kilos. Ang nasira po na shabu ay worth P8.16 billion (Before this, actually on August 21, 2020 the PNP had destroyed 1,200 kilos or 1.2 tons; PDEA 600 kilos. Some P8.16 billion worth of shabu were destroyed),’’ he concluded.