A so-called signature campaign being circulated by 20 barangay chairpersons in Cagayan de Oro City that demanded the imposition of an ‘enhanced community quarantine’ (ECQ) or lockdown in the city was brushed aside by Mayor Oscar Moreno who said he wasn’t bothered by it.
“Unsa bay ilang gusto nga moatras ang siyudad to where it is now, when there is, thank God, little paralysis of the city’s economy? If there was a lockdown it would have been different but I saw the implications of lockdown because it will certainly paralyze the city’s economy,’ the mayor said during yesterday's press briefing.
Moreno mentioned the petition even as he chided anew his bashers in social media for discrediting and undermining his administration’s efforts in protecting and providing assistance to city residents hard hit by the citywide quarantine due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“Naa diha naghunahuna lang about nothing but politics who hope to pull me down with them but they won’t succeed,” the mayor said.
Moreno said the petition is being circulated by barangay chairpersons who have ‘colored affiliations’ about the opposition Padayon Pilipino party founded by his predecessor, the late mayor Vicente Emano whose party color is violet and the Christian Democratic Party led by Rep. Rufus Rodriguez whose sister Councilor Jocelyn Rodriguez had been critical of the administration’s efforts in the handling of the crisis particularly in the allocation of funds for Covid-19 response.
A letter petition signed by more than 30 doctors who called for an ECQ was also addressed to Moreno, who said while he understood their sentiments, he cannot agree to impose a citywide lockdown.
He also said most, if not all their proposals such as the allocation of relief assistance to affected families, were already being done by his administration.
The latest signature campaign comes on the heels of the death of Patient 6783, a resident of Sitio Pinitikan, Barangay Camaman-an who was confirmed to be Covid-19 positive.
It also came amid President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to allow local governments under general community quarantine that have low to moderate Covid-19 cases to gradually open more businesses to jump-start their economies.
Moreno said he will hold meetings with the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force and City Hall department heads to map out measures aimed at ensuring public health and safety from local Covid-19 transmission.
“Thank God, our health data is still stable and if things hold up, we will plan to gradually open some businesses but only after settling the situation in Sitio Pinikitan,” Moreno said. (Stephen Capillas of CIO)
