We must also salute local government functionaries, including barangay officials, and their employees who are implementers in the grassroots of the national government’s anti-coronavirus measures despite their lack of resources.

For example, in the First District of Albay, the mayors, namely Mayor Krisel B. Lagman of Tabaco City, Mayor Armando Romano of Bacacay, Mayor Jaime Villanueva of Tiwi, Mayor Leny Ceriola-Santos of Malinao, Mayor Roli Volante of Malilipot and Mayor Joseling Aguas, Jr. of Sto. Domingo, have been meeting to map out inter-municipality/city polices on boundary lockdowns, market day schedules, quarantine protocols and allied measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

These mayors have kept their constituents regularly informed of the latest developments so that the people know the real score and to prevent them from fearing the unknown and relying on false news.

What the mayors of the First District of Albay have been doing to cooperate in the battle against the pandemic is replicated provincewide and nationwide so much so that we should not forget to appreciate the earnest efforts of local officials against the contagion.

Meanwhile, on March 30, 2020, the Provincial Government of Albay, together with the Province’s 15 municipalities and three cities, and with the concurrence of Regional Office No. 5 of the Department of Health (DOH), decided to temporarily make the newly-constructed two-storey Medical Arts Building of the Dr. Lorenzo P. Ziga Memorial District Hospital (DLZMH) in Tabaco City a facility to house persons under investigation (PUI) with mild symptoms.

Tabaco City residents must not fear the spread of infection since only mild cases of PUIs will be confined at the DLZMH facility who will be under strict supervision, and the facility is located in a compound which is segregated from the community.

The said Medical Arts Building was one of my priority projects in 2019, and I requested the DOH Secretary Francisco Duque for the supply of 22 hospital beds, testing kits, personal protective equipment (PPEs), protective masks, medicines, and allied supplies for the operationalization of the COVID-19 medical facility.

The necessary funds for the procurement shall be sourced from the P23.5-million and P18.250-million equipment outlays in the 2019 and 2020 General Appropriations Acts, respectively, specifically for DLZMH.

The expenses for the quarantine of the PUIs shall be shouldered by the Albay Provincial Health Office and PhilHealth, and shall be fully free for the PUIs.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN