{"id":247732,"date":"2020-03-11T01:43:01","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T05:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=247732"},"modified":"2020-03-11T01:43:01","modified_gmt":"2020-03-11T05:43:01","slug":"prrd-urges-village-execs-to-be-game-changer-amid-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/03\/11\/prrd-urges-village-execs-to-be-game-changer-amid-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"PRRD urges village execs to be \u2018game changer\u2019 amid Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte holds a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Malaca\u00f1an Palace on March 9, 2020. ROBINSON NI\u00d1AL JR.\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 In an effort to protect the public from the threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday enjoined village executives nationwide to be a \u201cgame changer\u201d by intensifying the fight against the infectious disease.<\/p>\n

Duterte gave the directive during a briefing with the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases held at Malaca\u00f1an Palace on Monday night.<\/p>\n

He ordered Local Government Secretary Eduardo A\u00f1o to check whether all villages nationwide are following the government\u2019s health protocols to contain the spread of Covid-19, Malaca\u00f1ang said in a press statement on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Duterte, as quoted by the Palace said: \u201cI have articulated here time and again, in case of mobilization, the role of the barangay (village) captains cannot be over emphasized.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo Secretary A\u00f1o, you take hold, control of the barangays and just see to it that they are complying with the order,\u201d he added, as he acknowledged the vital role of village officials in the national government\u2019s fight against Covid-19.<\/p>\n

The Philippines now has 33 confirmed cases of Covid-19, the Department of Health (DOH) announced earlier Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Duterte on Sunday signed Proclamation 922, placing the Philippines under a state of public health emergency in a bid to address the threat posed by Covid-19 in the country.<\/p>\n

Under Proclamation 922, all government agencies and local governments are mandated to render full assistance and cooperation, as well as to mobilize resources to undertake \u201ccritical, urgent, and appropriate\u201d response and measures \u201cin a timely manner\u201d.<\/p>\n

All Filipino residents and foreign tourists are also encouraged to \u201cact within the bounds of the law to comply with the lawful directives and advisories\u201d that will be issued by the national government to prevent further transmission of Covid-19.<\/p>\n

Prior to the signing of the presidential proclamation, A\u00f1o issued a January 31 memorandum circular for all local government units, directing them to establish their own Covid-19 task force headed by governors and mayors.<\/p>\n

A\u00f1o amended the circular on February 6, ordering village officials to form village emergency health response teams, determine village isolation units, and impose 14-day voluntary quarantine for residents who have travel history with countries that have confirmed Covid-19 cases.<\/p>\n

The guideline from the Local Government department highlights the need for village health workers to coordinate with the Department of Health with regard to the transfer of persons under investigation (PUIs) to accredited public hospitals or referral centers.<\/p>\n

The job of village executives to make sure that PUIs are transferred immediately to government-designated facilities, the Palace said.<\/p>\n

Local Covid-19 task forces activated<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meantime, Malaca\u00f1ang said A\u00f1o assured Duterte that local chief executives have already activated their own Covid-19 task forces.<\/p>\n

It added that A\u00f1o also appealed for the recognition of LGUs\u2019 autonomy, as he stressed their ability to act and handle things at the local level.<\/p>\n

LGUs have the ability to track possible cases and impose suspension of classes, as well as carry out restrictions and recommendations, A\u00f1o said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe (A\u00f1o) emphasized that for now, the most important thing is communication between the national and local government units,\u201d the Palace said.<\/p>\n

The DOH has raised the Covid-19 Alert System to Code Red Sub-level 1 following the spike in the number of positive cases of coronavirus disease in the country.<\/p>\n

A\u00f1o ensured that LGUs would impose mandatory quarantine to people who have close contact with Covid-19 patients, Malaca\u00f1ang said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the declaration of the public health emergency and with the country placed at Code Red Sub-Level 1, LGUs are expected to play the most active role, particularly in contact tracing at the barangay level and in investigating people with severe respiratory infection,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2014 In an effort to protect the public from the threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), President Rodrigo Duterte on …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":247733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247732"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247734,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247732\/revisions\/247734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}