Mayor of Cotabato town, wife test positive for COVID-19

File photo of Makilala, Cotabato Mayor Armand Quibod. (Image grab from his FB page)

KIDAPAWAN CITY—The mayor of Makilala town in Cotabato province, and his wife have tested positive for SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Makilala municipal administrator Manuel Lalaguna said Mayor Armando Quibod and his wife are in stable condition inside an isolation facility in the town.

Lalaguna added that two workers in the local government have also contracted the virus.

Quibod is the second mayor in Cotabato province to have been infected with COVID-19. On Wednesday, Alamada Mayor Jesus Sacdalan revealed that he contracted the virus.

Lalaguna said Quibod presided over a municipal peace and order council meeting where one of the participants tested positive for the virus last May 15.

He added that the mayor on May 16 showed COVID-19 symptoms like dry cough and sore throat, prompting him and his wife to undergo a coronavirus test.

Lalaguna and all workers at the town hall who had close contact with the mayor in the last seven days, including police and military personnel, are now on quarantine.

With Quibod in isolation, Vice Mayor Ryan Tabay serves as acting mayor.

To ensure government services continue, Lalaguna said a skeletal workforce is in place in the municipal hall.

CFC