CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 18 August) — The city government of Iligan plans to rent hotel room to house their returning residents and overseas workers who will arrive at the Laguindingan Airport.
Jose Pantoja, Iligan City information officer, said Iligan officials signified this intention after a team of Iligan doctors and officials met with Mayor Oscar Moreno here last Monday.
He said the rising COVID-19 cases in Iligan City has made it difficult for officials to find hotel rooms for their returning residents and overseas workers, referred to as Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) and Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs).
Moreno confirmed this proposal from Iligan but he advised the team led by Iligan Councilor Lamberto Macapagal Jr., that Cagayan de Oro would help provided they are willing to help themselves.
Macapagal Jr. heads the Iligan City Council’s Disaster Risk, Reduction Management Committee.
Moreno said he pointed out to Macapagal that Iligan has many hotels and resorts that can be tapped for its LSIs and ROFs.
“I understand there is a deep political rivalry in Iligan but they should set this aside and put their act together,” Moreno said.
“They have to show that they are helping together. Cagayan de Oro will be there to help if they show us that they can be together,” he added.
The Iligan City Emergency Operation Center Health Cluster reported 94 COVID-19 infections in the past few days.
Mayor Celso Regencia earlier appealed to the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to put Iligan City under Enhanced Quarantine (ECQ) after 22 out of 40 barangays recorded five or more COVID-19 cases each.
The IATF, however, did not grant the request of Regencia. All of Mindanao’s 27 provinces and 33 cities are now under Modifiqued General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) until August 31.
Zamboanga City, the lone Mindanao area to be under General Community Quarantine from August 1 to 15, is now back to MGCQ from August 16 to 31. However, The National Inter-Agency Task Force did not grant the request of Regencia for an ECQ. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)