Pangasinan mayor, IMT members infected

MANILA, Philippines — The mayor of Malasiqui town in Pangasinan has tested positive for COVID-19.

In a post on Facebook, Mayor Noel Anthony Geslani said he and one of his children contracted the virus.

He said he is asymptomatic while his child developed symptoms.

Geslani said the municipal building was closed for disinfection yesterday.

Dagupan City Councilor Librada Reyna said she also contracted the virus and is confined in a hospital.

It was not known if the two local officials have been vaccinated.

In Zamboanga City, three Malaysian and a Filipino member of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) were found infected.

The Malaysian-led IMT is an international body tasked to observe the implementation of the peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Dulce Amor Miravite, Zamboanga city health office chief, said the four were isolated, adding that contact tracing is ongoing.

Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar urged the Western Mindanao Command to investigate its personnel who facilitated the entry of the IMT observers without undergoing reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing.

She said the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Health and Bureau of Quarantine should also look into the breach of health protocols by the foreign observers.

Salazar said the city government is implementing a no-negative RT-PCR test result, no-entry policy for all inbound travelers.