Retired Major General Melquiades Feliciano (right), the deputy chief implementor fo the IATF in Visayas, and Councilor Joel Garganera (left), the deputy chief implementor of the EOC in Cebu City, talk to the barangay chiefs in the city via a zoom meeting.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) aims to strengthen its coordination with the Cebu City barangays for better implementation of the quarantine guidelines.
The IATF met with the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, to discuss how the data from the barangays to the Department of Health can be coordinated properly through the Emergency Operation Centers (EOC).
This developed as the EOC continues to improve its data collection efficiency at the barangay level, a move that would enable the city to craft more responsive measures against COVID-19.
“Everyone should make a recommendation on the issue of lockdown. We are eyeing a granular lockdown so that we will not impose unnecessary restriction on everybody,” said Retired Major General Melquiades Feliciano, the deputy chief implementor fo the IATF in Visayas.
Feliciano said on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, that the barangays will play a huge role in the city’s fight against COVID-19, from contact tracing to quick response for positive patients.
The barangays chiefs will also have authority on whether to place a sitio under lockdown or to lift that lockdown once the granular system of lockdowns will be set in place.
This is why there is a need for better coordination between the national agency and the country’s most basic government units, the villages.
Feliciano hopes that the city’s COVID-19 response will become better now that the EOC will become the coordinating body of the barangay and the IATF.
The retired general also said he was thankful for the cooperation of the barangays who are willing to be the front-liners during the pandemic. He urged them to continue working hard for their constituents.
Councilor Joel Garganera, the new deputy chief implementor of the EOC in Cebu City, promised the public that there will be more transparency from now on with better coordination with the villages.
He assured that there will be daily updates on the COVID-19 situation in the city. /bmjo