No to lockdown, business as usual in Koronadal – Mayor Ogena
City Mayor Eliordo Ogena assures the community that there is no lockdown of the entire city instead business as usual in Koronadal provided the health of the people is not compromised.
The Local Chief Executive (LCE) said during the press conference that he is not in favor of the said initiative because it will hamper the business operations, which play a vital role in economic recovery. He also referred to the negative impact of the lockdown across the country during the implementation of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) last March, which brought business sectors to a standstill.
Ogena said that his decision was based on national guidelines to balance life and livelihood. Meanwhile, containment, localized or detailed lockdowns will be enforced in areas with COVID-19 positive.
As the city is in the process of revitalizing and stimulating the economy, the mayor ordered stricter compliance with minimum health protocols. He highlighted the need to impose disciplinary measures and sanctions on those who do not obey the enforced regulation, including individuals and establishments.
To ensure compliance with standard health protocols, City Administrator Atty. Rene Jumilla said the health monitoring team would be reactivated soon wherein violators would be given citation tickets and fines could be imposed on establishments that would lead to closure in several days.
Chief of Police Col. Joefel Siason of City PNP, vowed to support the said measure. He said their office would going to arrest offenders and can be charged with disobedience and non-cooperation based on Republic Act (RA) 1132.
To further strengthen the campaign against the possible local transmission of COVID-19, City’s health physician, Dr. Steven Mortera, encouraged people to use all tracking systems such as SC-CCTS and StaySafe to speed up contact tracing. He also explained that all the preventive measures imposed by the government would not be successful without the participation and support of the people.