BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The provincial government of Negros Occidental welcomes the proposal being pushed before the Inter-Agency Task Force of the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID) to give power to local government units (LGUs) to determine their own quarantine levels, and enforce granular lockdowns.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz yesterday said he and Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson have long been campaigning for such.
Local government units (LGUs) have “a better idea” as to what is happening on the ground, he stressed.
“Kada LGU may lain-lain nga sitwasyon,” Diaz said. “We know best what is happening on the ground, and we also know best of our capacity, so why would you make a uniform ruling nga wala gasantu sa aton kinaiya or aton nga peculiarity?”
If the province is allowed to control its own quarantine classification, Diaz said the provincial government will not be complacent.
Diaz added that the governor will push for the province to remain under general community quarantine (GCQ), wherein economic activities are not hampered while people are continuously reminded to never be complacent.
Last week, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) undersecretary Epimaco Densing stated that the IATF-MEID may move away with the regional or province-wide lockdowns, and instead give the power for LGUs to declare their own quarantine classification or enforce their own granular lockdowns.
According to Densing, the proposal was based on a recommendation forwarded by the sub-technical working group which was led by the Department of Health.
He added the national government will still have the option to declare a wide lockdown, although it will only be applied as a “last resort.”/PN
