Members of the Special Action Force were deployed in Basak San Nicolas to make sure that residents stay at home. | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Mayor Edgardo Labella has promised to help at least three barangays in Cebu City address pressing concerns on gambling, street dwellers, and the need for better coordination with the City Health Department in reporting cases of the coronavirus disease.
Labella said that the problems that these barangays now face are also the same problems that his administration is trying to address.
Basak Pardo barangay captain Catalina Cabardo has sought Labella’s help on the need to address illegal gambling problems within her jurisdiction.
Cabardo said there is a need to deploy policemen in her barangay to go after these illegal gamblers, most of whom play a game of cara y cruz (heads and tails) locally known as “hantak” even while the city remains under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Read: Basak Pardo chief told to explain ‘hantak’ in her barangay
San Nicolas Proper barangay captain Clifford Niñal, for his part, raised a concern on his barangay’s need for medicines and the services of a doctor to especially check the health condition of street dwellers whom he accommodated at their barangay gymnasium.
While barangay cluster clinics are available to attend to those with influenza-like illnesses and those who manifest coronavirus disease-related symptoms, Niñal said his barangay also needed doctors who specialize in children’s’ illnesses like stomachaches, skin diseases, and sore eyes among others.
Read: San Nicolas Proper to Cebu City gov’t: Help us take care of the homeless
Guadalupe Barangay Captain Michael Gacasan has also been complaining about the need for better communication between the CCHD and the barangays in the reporting of COVID-19 cases.
He complained about why his barangay was named second in terms of the number of cases of the infection when in fact they now have fewer cases in comparison with the other barangays.
Read: Barangay Guadalupe closes its borders
Gacasan said that their active cases are much lower than the 106 cases listed by CCHD.
While they never managed to have an audience with the mayor, the three barangay captains raised their concerns through the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) and in media reports.
In an interview this Wednesday morning, Labella said that he will be coordinating with the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) for the deployment of policemen in Barangay Basak Pardo.
“Not only nato pahugtan ang seguridad ( will we strengthen the security), we will bring to the bar of justice these individuals nga nagviolate sa atong (who violated our) ECQ [regulations],” said Labella.
In a separate interview, Police Brigadier General Ignatius Ferro, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas, said that policemen were already sent to Barangay Basak Pardo but residents continue to play a game of “cat and mouse” with the police.
Still, Ferro said they will do everything that they could to put an end to the barangay’s illegal gambling problems.
On the concern of Niñal, Labella said he will be helping the barangay care for street dwellers.
“We will give help to San Nicolas. I assure the barangay captain that he only needs to ask and we can provide,” he said.
The P1 million aid that will soon be released to the barangays will also help Barangay San Nicolas feed these street dwellers, the mayor added.
Labella said that his decision to allow the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) to oversee the consolidation of COVID-19 cases in the city and release updates to the media is expected to address Gacasan’s concerns. / dcb