Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin tasking barangay leaders. Contributed Photo
ANGELES CITY – Mayor Carmelo ‘Pogi’ Lazatin Jr. ordered all barangay officials to enforce safety measures against COVID-19 at the ground level, and yield to the instruction of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to implement these measures or face jail time for dereliction of duty.
Lazatin is urging barangay officials to strictly monitor their respective areas, since they know more their residents and what is happening around their premises.
“To assure public safety,” he said, “the stabilized communication and coordination between the barangay level and the City Government is important.” He is asking barangay chiefs to report immediately if there are residents in their areas who recently went home from affected areas of COVID-19 and monitor them, as well as their families, if they are experiencing the virus symptoms such as fever, cough, cold, and difficulty of breathing.
“The City Government is ready and equipped for this fight. If there is anything you need to assist you, please seek help from the City Government, specifically for medical needs. We will do everything to protect our citizens from this coronavirus pandemic,” Lazatin said.
In addition, according to the Mayor, it is also their duty to maintain peace and order in their barangays, particularly for accurate and factual information so it will not stir panic and misinformation among the people. Moreover, Lazatin is appealing to them to take control of their people, especially to remind them to stay at home, and only go outside to purchase basic necessities.
Mayor Lazatin with Chief Adviser Irish Calaguas on Tuesday called for an emergency meeting with barangay officials and barangay health workers to strengthen the activation of their respective Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT).
Health officers and doctors also explained to them what is COVID-19, its symptoms, as well as the difference between Persons Under Monitoring (PUMs) and Persons Under Investigation (PUIs) which the public usually misinterpret from confirmed patients for the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), “BHERT are aimed to help in the containment, control and prevention of COVID-19.”
Meanwhile, upon the announcement of the President to barangay Captains that they should be providing food assistance to their people, Mayor Lazatin reiterated that the City Government will assist them.
