Baguio, Kalinga town not ready for returning residents

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The program of the city government here for its returning residents will be put on hold.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong said the protocols for the program should be fine-tuned.

Magalong said they do not have enough quarantine and health facilities to accommodate around 50,000 residents who want to return home.

”We do not want a second wave of cases to happen in the city,” he said.

Magalong said a technical working group proposed guidelines for a manageable re-entry of stranded residents.

He said those coming to the city should undergo triage, quarantine or hospitalization if needed. 

Magalong stressed the need to coordinate with concerned local government units and strictly observe health and safety standards.  

Health declaration forms, which can be accessed online, should be filled out by returning residents. 

In Kalinga, Capt. Willy Dumansi, police chief of Kanudan town, appealed to his townmates who were stranded in Metro Manila and other areas to remain in their location.

Dumansi said isolation facilities in the town are not adequate to accommodate stranded overseas Filipino workers, students, employees and residents who wish to come home.

He said the local government lacks the resources and manpower to monitor its 16 barangays.

“If possible, you better stay in your present location if you can assess your convenience comparing to what will be your situation when you are isolated in barangay health facilities for 14 days,” Dumansi said.

‘Welcome with caution’

Local government officials in Leyte and Biliran Islands held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss how to deal with returning residents, especially those stranded in areas where there are confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019.

Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez said local government units should welcome residents “with caution.”

Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez said they have prepared around 100 isolation units and is readying an additional 600.

Baybay City Mayor Jose Carlos Cari said local government units should pass a resolution asking the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to delay the opening of borders in areas under general community quarantine.

“If we were strict last March, the more... we should be strict this time... We are talking here of 300 to 400 people for Baybay alone,” Cari said

An Waray party-list Rep. Florencio Noel said the national government should provide additional funding  for its ”Balik Probinsya” program.

Palompon Mayor Georgina Arevalo said her town could only accommodate 20 returning residents at a given time because they have limited quarantine facilities. - Raymund Catindig, Lalaine Jimenea, Gilbert Bayoran