VSMMC frontliners get free meals

CEBU, Philippines —  The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) has distributed over 4,000 food packs since the first week of July to medical frontliners at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).

The Municipal Hall of Minglanilla has finally opened its doors to the transacting public today after it was closed last week for disinfection.

It was closed to the public from August 4 to August 7 after 16 personnel working in four departments—Municipal Agriculture Office, Budget Office, Treasure’s Office, and Engineering Office– were found positive for COVID-19.

However, the employees cannot report back to work yet if they have not undergone the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test for COVID-19.

All employees—regular, casual and job order personnel– were mandated to undergo the test before reporting back to work as provided for under Mayor Elanito "Lani" Peña’s Executive Order No. 29.

Under Peña’s EO, the employees cannot get inside the municipal offices without the clearance from the Municipal Health Office.

“Gidili ang pagpapasulod og balik sa tanang empleyado sa mga opisina sa atong munisipyo hangtod nga naay pagtugot o clearance gikan sa atong municipal health officer,” the town’s official Facebook page also read.

The town has 109 regular employees, 66 casual employees and 315 job order workers.

COVID-19 testing, on the other hand, will be voluntary for elected officials.

While the town hall was closed, work did not stop as employees were on a work-from-home set-up.

Also, frontline workers and those in essential services were on a rotational schedule.

Aside from the mandatory testing on all government employees, Peña also agreed on the random testing of employees in the private firms in the town.

He said a business establishment should be closed for 24 hours for decontamination and contact tracing if an employee tested positive for COVID. — KQD (FREEMAN)