RDC exec urges vigilance to reduce Covid infections
By Cet Dematera
REGIONAL Development Council (RDC) Bicol chairman and Legazpi City Mayor Noel E. Rosal has reminded all the barangay officials to closely monitor people from Metro Manila who are arriving at their villages as an important scheme to prevent the spread of Coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Rosal said that the village officials should always monitor their areas and remind their constituents to follow the minimum health and safety protocols to prevent spread of the Covid-19 virus in vulnerable communities.
Rosal has been designated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as the Covid-19 ambassador for Bicol to the BIDA solution program of the government as offshoot of his effective implementation of the health protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“As the RDC chairman in Bicol, I just want to recommend to all the local government units (LGUs) to conceptualize the most effective strategy on how to prevent entry in the region of those travelers from Metro Manila and other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) that are included in the Covid-19 hotspot areas,” Rosal explained.
Also, before allowing them to enter, Rosal said they should always present their valid documents including negative test result of RT-PCR or saliva/antigen tests before entering Bicol region to make sure they are not virus carriers.
Meanwhile, Bicol IATF chairman and DILG Bicol regional director lawyer Anthony Nuyda on his part said that the IATF will pass a resolution banning all the colorum vehicles including vans or private vehicles to enter the region for non-essential travel or without any legal documents.
He said that the IATF is planning to suspend the flights from Metro Manila to Legazpi City to control the entry of the people going to the province of Albay and other parts of the Bicol region more so if they come from identified hotspot Covid-19 areas in NCR.
“I told already the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Albay during its regular session that I received already some recommendations from other government agencies and LGUs for the suspension of flights from Metro Manila to Legazpi to control the spread of virus in the region”, Nuyda said.
He said that the Civil Aviation Authorities of the Philippines (CAAP) has also requested to the IATF for a dialogue regarding the suspension of flights.
“The members of the Bicol IATF will hold a meeting to tackle the issue of the suspension of flights and then we will ask some recommendations and reactions from the provincial government of Albay and the city government of Legazpi”, he added.
He said that the other regions have suspended flights from Metro Manila as they implemented some classifications regarding community quarantines due to the continually ballooning cases of Covid-19 at the NCR.