Be creative in COVID-19 response, LGUs told

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has reminded local governments to coordinate with the national government to avoid duplication of actions and to be “creative” as the country heads toward the new normal.

“The most important is the coordination as usual between the local government and the national government,” Marcos said during the oath taking of newly elected officers of the League of Vice Governors of the Philippines in Malacañang last Tuesday.

“Our plans of action should really be clear and we should move together to prevent duplication, to prevent gaps so that whatever our plan is, it would be in consonance with each other, the national government and the local government,” he added.

Marcos noted that COVID-19 has changed the way people conduct their activities, including going to school and work and shopping.

“And so, it’s not the question of going back to what was pre-pandemic, it is going forward to what is the new, what is the new economy, what is the new global economy and that’s why local executives and the legislators have to be creative,” he added.

The league is composed of vice governors from 81 provinces and is a member of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, the umbrella organization of all local governments and elected local officials.

Officers of the league who took their oath before Marcos include Laguna Vice Gov. Katherine Agapay (national president), Aklan Vice Gov. Reynaldo Quimpo (chairman of the board) and Ilocos Norte Vice Gov. Cecilia Araneta-Marcos (executive vice president).