By Joseph B.A. Marzan
Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. nixed the idea of a total lockdown in the province during weekends amid the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) already in place to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a text message to Daily Guardian on April 16, 2020, Defensor said that he was already content with the current measures in place.
“No [weekend lockdown]. We are content with the quarantine procedures in the municipalities,” he said.
The governor placed the province under the ECQ on March 20, 2020 through Executive Order No. 080, as part of the provincial government’s response to the threat of COVID-19.
The ECQ was extended from April 14 to April 30 through Executive Order No. 102 issued on April 8.
‘QUINTO’ ON WEEKEND LOCKDOWN
But municipal mayors of Iloilo’s fifth congressional district are on a different course as they issued a Joint Memorandum Circular on April 8 ordering the closure of all establishments on Sundays.
Under the Joint Memorandum Circular, all business establishments in Ajuy, Balasan, Barotac Viejo, Batad, Carles, Concepcion, Estancia, Lemery, San Dionisio, San Rafael and Sara shall be closed on all Sundays of April, unless extended.
Pharmacies, clinics, and fish ports are exempted from the closure.
The fifth district mayors had formed the Northern Iloilo Alliance for Development (NIAD) COVID-19 Task Force on April 5 with the goal of a common direction in policy implementation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ten municipalities are still free of COVID-19 cases as of April 16, 2020.
The latest data by the Department of Health has also indicated that as of April 16, Iloilo province has had 16 confirmed cases, with one still admitted in a hospital and nine under home quarantine. Four persons have died of the infection while two have recovered.