FILE PHOTO: Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara
MANILA, Philippines — Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara on Wednesday rejected the recommendation to place the province under the strictest enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to increasing COVID-19 cases.
Bichara said it is the residents who refuse to be under ECQ as they fear losing their jobs anew because such community quarantine means a stringent restriction on the movement of people. He also said the local government now lacks funds to extend financial aid to residents affected by the lockdown.
“‘Yung mga tao, ayaw na mag-ECQ dahil ‘yung mga nagtatrabaho, isang kahig, isang tuka, mawawalan ng trabaho sila,” Bichara said in a public briefing.
(The residents don’t want the province to be placed under ECQ because they might lose their jobs.)
“Ubos na rin ‘yung pera namin para magbigay ng ayuda,” he added.
(Our funds are also depleted to be able to give financial aid.)
It was doctors in the Bicol region who recommended placing the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon, including the cities of Legazpi, Naga, and Sorsogon under ECQ amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.
Albay province is currently under a less restrictive general community quarantine.
Instead of placing the area under ECQ, Bichara said he ordered mayors to tighten protocols within their localities, including banning karaokes, liquor, and imposing curfew hours.
He, however, said transportation in the province cannot be halted since many people are going to work.
“Ang problema ay ‘yung mga nasa transportation kasi sa tingin ko doon nagkakahawaan kasi tuloy pa rin ‘yung pagbibiyahe nila dahil naghahanap buhay, hindi mo naman mapigilan ‘yun,” he said.
Even if the province implements border controls, Bichara said some travelers from Metro Manila are still able to pass through because some of them rent private buses or private vehicles and claim they only came from Camarines Sur.
“Hindi naman namin pwede pigilan bawat sasakyan. Hahaba ang traffic sa highway. So may nakakalusot na ganun,” he said.
At present, the province has 1,948 active cases of COVID-19, including 1,900 recoveries and 119 deaths.