BATANG MAYNILA
Mayor Isko Moreno
Last March 8, the City of Manila joined the entire nation in celebrating the International Women’s Day, even as we continue to fete women during this National Women’s Month.
On behalf of the city’s officialdom and the people of Manila, I salute and give tribute to all women, especially those who continue to fight for equality in every aspect of society and serve as harbingers of positive changes.
Having many women leading a good number of the local government of Manila’s key departments, bureaus and offices, I can say with all honesty and first-hand knowledge that indeed, the role that women play in the success of our city programs cannot be underestimated. Kudos to women and women power!!
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For four days ending Sunday, I had to order, with a heavy heart, the strict lockdown of three barangays in Manila after they registered high COVID cases, meaning ten or more.
These are Barangay 351 in San Lazaro, Tayuman which registered 12 COVID cases; Barangay 725 in Malate with 14 cases; and a portion of Barangay 699 on M. Adriatico specifically the Bayview Mansion Building and the Hop Inn Hotel also in Malate, with 17 cases.
We have been hearing health experts say that the transmissions of the coronavirus have now been happening within families or households.
It is for this reason that I am calling on all Manilans to continue practicing the basic, minimum health protocols even when they are inside the confines of their very own homes.
One cannot reason out that there is no need for this since they are family, spouses or relatives. This lax thinking is where the problem begins, especially if even just one of the household member goes in and out of the house.
This reasoning is not acceptable, unless no one from a single household stepped out for the past 11 months or have not had any interaction with anyone outside of the household members. Both cases are nearly impossible, if not totally impossible at all.
Simultaneous with the lockdowns, we in the local government also made sure that our food security program is at work. We sent food packs to the areas affected by the lockdowns, good enough to last them the entire period when they are not allowed to leave their homes.
Our concerned personnel have been mobilized to effect the swift delivery of the food boxes in time for the lockdown period, along with at least a million facemasks for free distribution by the barangays to their constituents.
With the unfortunate increase in the number of COVID cases in the city, the next two weeks are crucial, which is why Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna and I never get tired of appealing to all the Manila residents not to become lax and be constantly reminded that there is still COVID-19 hovering in our midst. Barangay authorities are also called upon to constantly remind their constituents to wear their facemasks properly.
Fortunately, amid the alarming rate of spike in COVID-19 cases, we in the city government carried out the simultaneous vaccination of medical frontliners who are senior citizens on top of the regular health frontliners.
The resumption of the vaccination of regular medical frontliners was done following the arrival of fresh, additional 3,000 doses of Sinovac in addition to the first batch of 3,000 that came the week before last.
Once again, I thank President Rodrigo Duterte, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr., Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and the DOH family for the additional doses of Sinovac and also, for the 1,000 doses of Astra Zeneca that we also received.
With the arrival of the said vaccines, our medical frontliners who are senior citizens were vaccinated with Astra Zeneca at the Ospital ng Maynila while those who are 18 to 59 got their jabs of Sinovac at the Sta. Ana Hospital, the site of the first vaccinations made.
Rest assured that the city government of Manila is following to the letter the regulations set by the World Health Organization, the Department of Health and the national government on the use of the donated vaccines.
We are well aware of the rules governing the said donations that health frontliners must be prioritized and we would not want to put future donations at risk.
In Manila, we also opened the vaccination to health frontliners from the private hospitals and clinics and I am but happy to announce that among those who got vaccinated with the first batch of Sinovac were from private health institutions.
This is how we roll once the vaccines land in our city. Fast and efficient and for this, I commend our very own health personnel. They truly make me proud.
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Gaya ng paulit-ulit kong sinasabi, kailangan ko ang tulong ninyong lahat. Walang magmamalasakit sa Maynila kundi tayo ding mga Batang Maynila. Manila, God first! ***
For updates on latest developments in the city of Manila, please visit my Facebook account – ‘Isko Moreno Domagoso.’