Cebu board member supports calls to abolish IATF

Cebu 3rd District Board Member John Ismael Borgonia | CDN Digital File Photo 2021

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A member of the Provincial Board (PB) has backed the calls to abolish the government’s anti-COVID task force.

3rd District Board Member and lawyer John Ismael Borgonia is planning to file a resolution, throwing his support on calls by several Senators to put an end to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

Borgonia, in a recent teleconference with reporters, said that it was now time for the national government to empower local government units (LGUs).

Borgonia said local government officials were ‘more in touch with reality’ with their constituents than their counterparts in the national government.

“Ang LGU maoy naa sa ground. Kahibaw sa reality… Kung pwede, muintervene ra ang national government kung nakit-an sa LGU nga dili nila kaya. If dli kaya like sa LGU, then magpatabang na sa national government,” said Borgonia.

(The LGU is the one on the ground. They know the reality…if possible, the national government can intervene if it sees the LGU cannot handle it. If it cannot be handled like in the LGU, then the LGU will seek help from the national government.)

The legislator also took a swipe at several policies implemented by the IATF, like the motorcycle barrier and the need to wear face shields in public areas, which he said only brought inconvenience.

“Daghan na ang saway sa mga polisiya sa IATF… Nahimo nang kataw-anan like kadto barriers sa motorsiklo, face shield ug mga uban pa nga which is dili realistic,” said Borgonia.

(There are many complaints on the policies of the IATF…These have become jokes like the motorcycle barriers, face shield and others which are unrealistic.)

He also pointed out provisions in the Local Government Code that the national government, through the IATF, could only intervene and manage health crisis in a locality up to a maximum of six months.

The IATF has since scrapped the rule of putting barriers on motorcycles in 2020, following public backlash. Recently, they eased the mandatory wearing of face shields by limiting its use within indoor settings only.

Last September, Senator Joel Villanueva suggested that the IATF should be abolished during the budget hearing at the Senate of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Villanueva made the proposal after Senator Sonny Angara pushed for less stringent regulations in restaurants for vaccinated customers and Senator Imee Marcos sought the scrapping of curfews. / with reports from INQUIRER.net

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