Growing COVID-19 threat prompts calamity declaration in Iligan

ILIGAN CITY—-The local legislature has declared a state of calamity on Friday (March 13) to unlock funds needed to fight the growing threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In a special session, the city council approved the ordinance declaring the state of calamity unanimously. The session was presided over by Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz.

Councilor Lamberto Macapagal, chair of the committees on health and disaster risk reduction and management, told the Inquirer the council move was in accordance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s earlier declaration of a state of public health emergency nationwide through Proclamation No. 922.

Mindanao’s first COVID-19 patient was first brought to an Iligan hospital and transferred to the Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro City.

Patient 40, as tagged by the Department of Health (DOH), is a 54-year-old man from Lanao del Sur. Some of his relatives, who came in contact with him, are at a village in the city.

On Thursday (March 12), Mayor Celso Regencia ordered all classes suspended indefinitely.

On Friday, the council also passed an ordinance that reimpose curfew for minors and adults from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Councilor Ian Uy, chair of the committee on peace and order, said the curfew would help the local government enforce measures against the virus. The curfew came with a prohibition on alcoholic drinks between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Edited by TSB