As cases rise, Cimatu to coordinate Cebu City execs on COVID-19 response

MANILA, Philippines — Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu is working to fix the “lack of collective action” among Cebu City officials against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as cases continue to rise, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said Saturday.

“Ang nasabi po kahapon ng ating mabuting kalihim is very simple na muna, ang important  po is yung pagkakaisa po at iisa po yung bawat galaw ng lider po.  para hindi malito yung taumbayan,” Antiporda, who spoke on behalf of Cimatu, said during the Laging Handa online briefing.

(What the secretary has said yesterday that what is important is the leaders of the city should act as one, so the people won’t get confused.)

“Alam naman po natin na marami pong political issues dyan, kung kaya’t yun ang unang-unang ginagawan ng solusyon ng ating kalihim, and along the way eh tuloy-tuloy na po yang trabaho nila,” he added.

Antiporda later said that Cimatu noticed that officials in Cebu City, from the barangay (village) level up to the provincial government, has “no collective action” to address the increase in cases.

“Well actually, wala hong definite na political issues. It’s just that you can see on the situation doon sa Cebu na walang coordination, walang buong pagkilos mula sa barangay level to the local government units, to the provincial government, hindi po buo,” the DENR official said when asked what “political issues” is the environment chief working on.

(Well actually, there are no definite issues. It’s just that you can see in the situation in Cebu that there is no coordination, no collective action from the barangay level to the local  government units, to the provincial government, they are not acting as one.)

Cimatu, a former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, was ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte to oversee the government’s COVID-19 response in the city.

Currently, Cebu City is under an enhanced community quarantine as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

Cimatu previously said 12 barangays in the city will be placed under total lockdown as these as considered as COVID-19 hotspots. 

/MUF