MORE than a thousand residents of the first district of Tondo underwent testing for COVID-19 on Sunday as the area entered the first few hours of its 48-hour “hard” lockdown, Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno said.
“As of 1 p.m., we have already tested 1,133,” Moreno said, adding they will use the period to conduct more tests and rapid risk assessment to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The hard lockdown ends 5 a.m. of Tuesday.
Tondo District 1 has 135 barangays with more than half a million population.
The city government set up four testing centers for the mass testing. These are located at the Rosauro Almario Elementary School, Jose Rizal Elementary School, Timoteo Paez Integrated School and Tondo High School.
As of 5 p.m. of May 2, the city health department recorded 102 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the first district of Tondo, 226 suspected cases and one probable case. Nine recoveries and 13 deaths have been reported.
Manila has 735 confirmed cases, with 941 suspected cases and 36 probable as of May 2. Ninety eight have recovered while 64 have succumbed to the virus.
Moreno said that as of 1:44 p.m. Sunday, policemen deployed to enforce the lockdown have arrested 176 violators.
Asked if the city government would enforce a similar lockdown in other areas of the city, Moreno said city government leaders are assessing the situation.
“We will be more surgical. We started with a district, then we created a new mindset that there is the gravity of the situation. But for now, I cannot afford to have it extended and extended,” he said.
“We cannot afford another ECQ. We cannot afford another 30 days. We don’t want loans again. We don’t want to continue borrowing. Borrowing is good in a good day, but now, without income, baka malugmok kami (we might collapse),” he added.
COMPLAINTS
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Sunday urged the public not to swamp the agency with lockdown-related complaints as it advised complainants to first try to settle their issues at the barangay level.
DILG undersecretary for barangay affairs Martin Diño said his office has received 2,000 complaints against barangay officials alone. He said 100 barangay chairmen have already been issued show-cause orders to respond to the complaints.
Spokesman Jonathan Malaya said most of the complaints the DILG received were “misinformation” and “opinions” lodged by people who did not even verify their issues with their respective barangays.
“That’s why our appeal to our countrymen is before lodging your complaint to the national government, it’s your responsibility to coordinate with your barangay first,” Malaya said.
Malaya noted one complaint against the supposed establishment of a quarantine facility for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) workers in a barangay in Las Piñas. When checked, Malaya said the information turned out to be fake news.
Malaya also urged the public to first inquire with their barangay officials before posting complaints on social media as he noted that most of these posts only generate unnecessary reactions and issues online.
Malaya said the public can elevate their complaints to the DILG if barangays do not act on them.
“That’s when our job comes in. If you were ignored by the barangay, you already exerted utmost effort to complain and you were ignored, that’s when the DILG will come in,” Malaya said. — With Victor Reyes
