CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City minority floor leader Nestor Archival said the city government should accept the reality that the city is now the epicenter of COVID-19 and take appropriate actions, instead of putting a facade.
“If it’s the real thing, then let’s accept it kaysa ato lang taguon. If we go on hiding it, then we will continue to go up until kitang tanan mangaigo ta,” said Archival in reaction to Dr. Tony Leachon's earlier statement.
Leachon stands as Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Chief Implementer Sec. Carlito Galvez’s special adviser.
Archival said the city should no longer ask for a reconsideration should the IATF revert the city’s status from GCQ to MECQ or ECQ.
“Like sauna, nihangyo ta last May supposedly MECQ ta nihangyo tag mag GCQ. Unya pag-GCQ atong mga seniors di nato makontrolar, atong gipasagdan. So what’s going on?" Archival said.
The City Council has reportedly asked for an audience with Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella on several occasions but the meeting did not materialize.
“Kami gani mga konsehal, wa gani kahibalo ug unsa na ta, how much more sa ubang mga tawo? Sige ra siyag ingon na mo-attend, pero wala gyud na nahitabo,” said Archival.
Councilor Raymond Garcia reportedly was the only one who gave them updates on Labella's plan and actions during their council sessions since the start of the ECQ.
Archival said the city’s problem COVID-19 could reach to December, if not the next year, if Labella continues to handle it the way he has handled it now.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama, for his part, said the city government should use an "iron fist" in implementing its actions in containing the virus.
“There has to be a clear political will. Very much resolved and we should not be promoting gathering. We are promoting transmitting and we should all be mindful that there is no substitute for discipline. That’s the way we can improve, that’s the way we can get out from being an epicenter or being Wuhan. Because right now we are now the Wuhan in terms of our country,” Rama said.
Rama said he never hid the real picture of what is happening in the city and described the situation here as “scary,” as even his own relatives are down with illness and that there are reported deaths of COVID-19 at the City Hall.
Cebu City South District Rodrigo Abellanosa, who has also been vocal in expressing his dismay on how the city handled the situation, was not surprised with this development.
“If you have at least half of the top 10 barangays with the most number of cases in the country, then you easily become the epicenter in the whole Philippines. That is Cebu City,” Abellanosa said.
He added that this is the result of a “delayed reaction in detection, testing and isolation of suspected COVID cases in Barangays Luz and Mambaling, the indiscriminate mass testing, instead of contact tracing and testing, mass gatherings of the financial distributions instead of house-to-house, among other factors."
“GCQ or ECQ for Cebu City? It doesn’t matter. What matters most is an effective and firm leadership of the chief executives in our city government, focused on the right priorities to overcome this knee on the neck,” Abellanosa said.
Earlier, Leachon, who announced Cebu City as the epicenter of COVID-19 based on the DOH data, said data cannot be denied that leaders should tell the truth, be a problem solver and communicate well.
“As long as a leader is trying their best to communicate well, and you mean well, people will always understand. But if you will not communicate in a transparent, straightforward manner, pag dumating yung time na talagang may epidemic, you did not prepare the people na pwede silang mag MECQ or ECQ, then kayo po ang lalabas na magkakaron kayo ng mistakes,” said Leachon.
“In crisis, I don't think leaders should act or be affected by the dynamics of politics kasi pinasok natin ay politika eh, there are many ways na pwedeng magalit sayo ang tao, but you cannot please everyone. Kung anumang maging decision ngayong Monday, you have to embrace it, you should not escape that, a leader should be able to step up to the situation and make that as a challenge,” he added.
The president is expected to announce the quarantine status tomorrow based on IATF's recommendation. GAN (FREEMAN)