CAR Leaders take differing perspectives on regionwide GCQ return

January 30, 2021 Headlines

BAGUIO CITY (January 29, 2021) – Political leaders in the Cordillera, which would revert back to GCQ for a month starting February 1, express differing perspectives over the restriction declaration. While Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, the country’s contact tracing czar is “absolutely supporting the decision” of the IATF saying, “we need to manage and control the movement of people to be able to address the surge”, Ifugao Governor Jerry Dalipog “(as much as possible) we want an MGCQ”.
Dalipog said he earlier informed the NIATF of his province’s take on the reversion and opted for the “new normal” scenario likened to the MGCQ sans more restrictions. While Tabuk City mayor Darwin Estrañero said his city and Kalinga province have not decide if they support the reversion cited the dire effects again of the month-long GCQ restrictions especially on his city’s local economy.
“The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic has seen many in the workforce to lose their livelihoods,” the official lamented, adding, “border closures, trade restrictions and confinement measures have affected agriculture and other small scale industries thus disrupting the food supply in the rural areas.” Estranero added that tourism, which used to provide work and income to a lot of people has remained uncertain.
Though Kalinga lawmaker Jesse Allen Mangaoang admitted “there is no choice” but to re-impose stricter measures to avert the fufther spread of the virus. “It (now) depends on the different local government executives on how each LGU correspond and adapt to the GCQ (status).” We have been there before and from experience, there cold be probable adjustments or calibration that could be implemented to lessen its impact, Mangaoang believed.
While Abra governor Ma. Jocelyn Bernos, also the chairman of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera apparently has prepared her provincemates’ psyche of the GCQ return as she had earlier asked them to prepare for the month-long stricter restrictions, which is not new anyway in their province.
Earlier, the lady governor took an iron-fist stance in implementing restrictions on returning residents in the province arguing that it was meant to save the 175,000 Abreños than the few whose comforts were compromised at the temporary quarantine facility at the entrance of the province.
Artemio A. Dumlao/ABN