BBM to balance work as mayor, contact tracing czar

July 18, 2020 Metro BLISTT

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong vowed he’d make a good balance between performing his duties as mayor and as the country’s contact tracing czar.

Being appointed by the National Task Force as the country’s new Contact Tracing chief on account of his pioneering an effective system in tracking close contacts of Coronavirus disease (COVID- 19) patients, Magalong gladly welcomed his appointment and assured that his duties as mayor will not be affected by his added responsibilities.

Using technology and employing the cognitive interview skill by the Philippine National Police, Magalong, a season investigator and police operation officer having led the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and also a Special Action Force (SAF) officer, developed a tool for fast and efficient contact-tracing system which was adopted by other local government units like Cebu City.

After Cebu City, Zamboanga, Muntinlupa and Bacoor including the environment department central office also requested Baguio City’s help in setting up if not improving their own contact tracing schemes.

The Baguio City government has set up a new web domain that will enable it to share its Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) data collection tool with other local government units around the country. The Dept. of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has already approved Baguio City’s application for a new domain that can be utilized by LGUs interested to set up their own information system to aid them in data collection, real-time monitoring and management of COVID-19 cases.

“This will lead to better decision-making crucial to containing the spread of the virus,” Magalong said. Executive Asst. Philip Puzon said that through the domain, LGUs can set up their own COVID-19 data base using the city’s data collection tool and the information when inputted to the link analysis software being used by the police will generate links and data useful in contact tracing.

Apart from allowing them to utilize the domain and help them develop their own websites, the city will also teach them on how to use both the data collection tool to build their own data base and the link analysis software for their contact tracing.

Baguio City which earlier shared the technology to its neighboring provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region, uses a multi-pronged approach: detection, isolation, testing and tracing. Aside from the computer-aided data collection system and link analysis, it also integrates cognitive interviewing and patient identity disclosure to maximize gathering of contact information and facilitate quarantine, testing, disinfection and medical protocols.

Magalong in accepting the new challenge as contact tracing czar said, ‘the country’s economy is interdependent thus the need for everyone to help one another.’ He stressed, “we all work under the same philosophy where we work as one, we heal as one.”

Artemio A. Dumlao/ABN