ILOILO CITY – The abrupt decision of the national government to place both Iloilo province and Iloilo City under the highest lockdown status against COVID-19 or the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has caused widespread confusion Friday, July 16.
Long lines of residents were seen flocking to local grocery stores when the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) released Friday afternoon Resolution No. 2021-127-E that made ECQ, the highest level of lockdown, effective immediately for Iloilo.
“It is abrupt. But what can we do? We roll with the punches,” said Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr.
This decision was different from the noontime announcement made by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque that there’s a recommendation for both Iloilo province and Iloilo City to be under ECQ starting July 22 until July 31.
But minutes after Roque made the announcement, Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said over a radio interview that the ECQ status for both the province and city of Iloilo is effective immediately.
The province of Iloilo consists of 42 towns and component city of Passi while Iloilo City serves as the regional capital of Western Visayas.
Earlier in the morning, Densing had a virtual meeting with the Iloilo governor and the mayors of towns in Iloilo province as well as Mayor Jerry Treñas of Iloilo City.
It was initially discussed that both Iloilo province and Iloilo City would only be elevated to ECQ status on July 22 if COVID-19 cases will worsen.
But a video of an agitated Treñas, who was raising his voice during the online meeting Friday with Densing, began circulating online.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began last March 2020, Treñas has been verbally attacking officials of national government agencies including Secretaries Roque and Francisco Duque III of the Department of Health (DOH).
As of July 15, the DOH Region 6 recorded 3,011 active COVID-19 cases in Iloilo province and 1,633 active COVID-19 cases in Iloilo City.