Guadulupe village chief reappeals ‘granular lockdown’

Empty streets are seen in Barangay Guadalupe in this January 24, 2021 photo as authorities implement “Stay at Home Sundays” in order to curb the rising cases of COVID-19 there. | CDN Digital File Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The village chief of Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City wants local authorities to reconsider implementing granular lockdowns in their community.

Barangay Captain Michael Gacasan said he will be requesting the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) not to push through with their plans to put certain areas there under small-scale lockdowns.

Gacasan said he has made the appeal before the Guadalupe Police Station. He said the barangay and its affected constituents cannot afford the looming granular lockdowns.

In turn, the barangay captain requested to give them at least two weeks to reduce their number of active COVID-19 cases.

“Dili pami gyud ka-afford sa pagka-karon. Lisud pa gyud kaayo. Daghan kaayo maapektuhan panginabuhi. Mao na dili lang sa mi karon sa granular lockdown. Mao na mohangyo mi dili lang sa i-rekomendar ang ingon ana,” explained Gacasan.

(We still can’t afford [granular lockdowns] for now. This is going to be very difficult. Many will be affected. This is the reason why we don’t want the lockdown.  That is why I will be asking that they don’t recommend its implementation.)

Albeit admitting that they have the highest number of active COVID-19 cases among the 80 barangays in the city, Gacasan pointed out that there are no clustering infections in their village.

He added that being the largest barangay in terms of population also contributed to Guadalupe’s topping the list of active COVID-19 infections.

“Katag man gud kaayo, kada Sitio usa-usa, ingon ba kaso namo, except lang sa usa ka panimalay sila tanan nga nagpuyo iyang mga staff 15 sila kabuok. Mao ra gyud to among kaso unya gi-lockdown naman namo didto ang lugar, ilang balay,” Gacasan said.

(The cases of infection is spread in the different sitios, except in one household wherein the 15 family members were infected.  That was the only instance wherein we placed their home under lockdown.)

Based on the latest data from Barangay Guadalupe, they have a total of 116 active cases of the infection as of July 19, affecting at least 42 out of their 85 sitios (sub-villages in English).

Earlier this week, the CCPO recommended putting several areas in Barangay Guadalupe under granular lockdown due to increasing number of COVID-19 cases.

The city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has already implemented such measures in portions of a private subdivision last July 18.

In the meantime, Gacasan assured the public that barangay authorities continue to reinforce health protocols there. At the same time, he urged residents to always observe minimum health standards.

Cebu City has a population of more than 960,000, according to the 2020 Census. Of this, 70,000 are from Barangay Guadulupe.

The city remained under the most lenient form of community quarantine – Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).

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/ dcb