LCP asks Palace to extend state of calamity to aid LGUs vs pandemic

President Rodrigo R. Duterte along with officials of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) do the fist gesture after their oath-taking ceremony at the Heroes’ Hall of Malacañan Palace on July 27. ACE MORANDANTE/PPD

BACOLOD CITY – The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) has appealed to the Office of the President to extend the state of calamity until June 30, 2022 to ensure that local governments will be able to continue to mitigate the threats of the pandemic and facilitate local economic recovery.

In a September 9 letter addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte, LCP national president and Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia expressed concern over the expiration of Presidential Proclamation No. 1021 on September 12, 2021, which will “cripple the ability of cities to respond to COVID-19.”

Under a state of calamity, cities have the authority to utilize development, special education, disaster risk and reduction funds, and other local resources to respond to and eliminate the threat of COVID-19.

“The extension of the state of calamity across the country will allow cities to implement programs that can lower the current case rates of COVID-19, open more COVID wards and critical care units, contain the surge of the Delta variant, and could supplant the requirements of the ongoing vaccine rollout,” Leonardia said in the letter.

In the same letter, Leonardia assured President Duterte that the city mayors “are committed to working closely with the President’s Office and relevant national agencies to ensure that we will overcome this pandemic soonest.”