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First 18 km of Central Luzon Link Expressway opens

DPWH

THE FIRST 18-kilometer section of the 30-kilometer Central Luzon Link Expressway project will be opened to motorists Thursday, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.

“Bukas na ang opening kaya nagpa-final inspection na ako dito. Ang bubuksan bukas ay 18 kilometers (The opening will be tomorrow, so I am conducting a final inspection. The 18-kilometer section will be opened),” Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said in an announcement via social media Wednesday.

The section runs from the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx)/Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) connection in Tarlac City to the intersection of Aliaga-Guimba Road in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, Mr. Villar said.

The expressway will be “toll-free,” he said.

“DPWH is committed to complete the entire 30-kilometer expressway project within the term of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, with the 10.3-kilometer Cabanatuan Section under Contract Package 4 already at 88.7% while the Zaragoza Interchange Section under Contract Package 5 is at 26.9% and expected to make significant progress as site possessions are secured for the project’s right-of-way requirements,” the department said in a statement.

“Once fully operational, the P11.811-billion expressway is expected to shorten the usual travel time of 70 minutes between Tarlac City and Cabanatuan City to just 20 minutes,” it added.

The project is expected to become an east-west link for the expressway network of Central Luzon “to ensure continuous seamless traffic flow” from Metro Manila and vice versa passing through North Luzon Expressway, SCTEx, and TPLEx. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Five-month SSS benefit payouts top P90 billion, increase by 13%

THE SOCIAL Security System (SSS) said it released P90.52 billion worth of benefits in the five months to May, up 13.3% from a year earlier, following an expansion in its membership base.

In a statement, the SSS said the payouts went to 3.46 million members of the pension fund for private-sector employees.

“Along with the rapidly increasing membership base is the constant rise of benefit releases to our qualified members, pensioners, and beneficiaries,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said Wednesday.

Social security benefits or P89.92 billion accounted for 99% of the total, while the remaining P608 million went to the employees’ compensation (EC) program.

Of the social security benefits, SSS released P53.74 billion in retirement payouts to 1.81 million members, and P23.72 billion in death benefits to 1.08 million beneficiaries.

It also issued P2.44 billion in disability benefits to 97,258 members, P5.99 billion worth of maternity benefits to 157,132 workers, P1.44 billion in sickness benefits to 147,210 members, P1.96 billion in funeral benefits to 84,530 claimants and P642 million in unemployment benefits to 47,764 members.

For the EC program, a facility which offers aid to workers who suffer work-related serious injury resulting in disability or death, the pension fund released P426 million worth of death benefits to 16,492 beneficiaries; P78 million of disability benefits to 2,044 workers, P98 million in sickness benefits to 11,663 members, P2 million worth of medical services to 393 members. It released P3 million worth of funeral benefits.

“On top of the regular social security benefits, employed and self-employed members are also entitled to receive EC benefits… We always reiterate in our promotional campaigns the primary responsibility of our member-employers, which is to report their workers and remit their contributions regularly to SSS,” Ms. Ignacio said.

The SSS has adopted electronic disbursement channels to fast-track its processes, especially for benefits. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Labs upgraded with US help improve ASF response

PHILSTAR

IMPROVED LABORATORY facilities that were upgraded with US assistance have helped better contain the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak and the spread of other animal diseases, Agriculture Undersecretary William C. Medrano.

He said laboratories have been improved or established via a threat capacity-building program supported by the US Department of Defense’s Threat Reduction Agency.

“We can feel the impact of the laboratories that were strengthened, and they are now functioning well. They are reporting significant outputs in the early detection of diseases and also in the surveillance of diseases,” Mr. Medrano said in a television interview Wednesday.  

The program, which started in September 2016, was valued at P1.1 billion. The US Embassy announced on June 17 that the final phase of the program was completed.

A total of seven regional animal diagnostic laboratories were either built or renovated under the program.

“These laboratories were really fitted out with state-of-the-art equipment for disease detection, diagnosis, and testing (to facilitate) early detection and testing of all transboundary animal diseases especially with ASF,” Mr. Medrano said.

Asked to comment further, Mr. Medrano said by mobile phone message that ASF cases have been declining compared to last year.

“From as high as 1,773 ASF cases in August last year, we now only have 251 cases (recorded) in the month of June and 48 cases as of July 9,” Mr. Medrano said.

On July 8, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar declared Lipa City and the towns of San Jose, Malvar, Rosario, Taysan, and Nasugbu in Batangas province to have fully recovered from ASF.

The declaration also reduces the classification of the six areas from red zones (infected) to pink zones (buffer). They can now start hog repopulation efforts and trade within selected zones.

ASF has depleted the hog inventory, resulting in an increase in pork prices. Measures taken by government to address tight supply include the implementation of lower tariffs for pork imports and the launch of credit programs to support hog repopulation. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Faster process implemented for dividing farmers’ collective titles

THE DEPARTMENT of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said it will expedite the “parcelization” of collective certificate of land ownership awards (CCLOAs) for the distribution of individually-owned plots to farmers.

Agrarian Reform Secretary John R. Castriciones said DAR Administrative Order No. 1 clarifies a previous administrative order on parcelization of all landholdings covered by CCLOAs issued by DAR to agrarian reform beneficiaries.

“This move is in line with President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s marching orders for the department to finish the land acquisition and distribution balance by 2024, distribute all government-owned lands and parcel the CCLOAs to the farmer beneficiaries,” Mr. Castriciones said in a statement Wednesday. 

“These guidelines aim to fast-track the parcelization of CCLOAs and the eventual generation, registration, and issuance of individual computerized titles to beneficiaries,” he added.

Mr. Castriciones said DAR provincial offices will conduct an inventory of all CCLOAs within their jurisdictions once the administrative order takes effect.

Following the inventory, the provincial offices will create a list of CCLOAs located within alienable and disposable lands and will be processed according to priority.

“The following order of priority will be 1. Land Bank of the Philippines-compensable lands distributed under the compulsory acquisition or voluntary offer to sell mode; 2. Government-owned lands which include lands within DAR settlement projects and lands turned over to the DAR by other government agencies and institutions are pursuant to Executive Order Nos. 407, Series of 1990, 448, Series of 1991, and 506, Series of 1994; and Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran lands distributed pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 2282, Series of 1983; 3. Landed estates; and 4. Lands under Voluntary Land Transfer scheme,” DAR said.

Mr. Castriciones said the administrative order was issued due to reports of disputes among agrarian reform beneficiaries with CCLOAs, including boundary conflicts, inclusion or exclusion of beneficiaries.

“If you own part of a CCLOA, it’s hard to make decisions on what crops to plant and how to plan your farm,” Mr. Castriciones said.

In October, the DAR’s Support to Parcelization of Land for Individual Titling project took effect with an approved loan package of P24.6 billion. The project seeks to provide financial support to accelerate the division of 1.3 million hectares of CCLOA agricultural land into individually-titled plots.

“In case of landholdings where there are agrarian reform beneficiaries who were awarded lands covered by a CCLOA and tilling a particular portion of land, the DAR shall parcelize the same based on the actual areas they are tilling provided that each area awarded to ARBs shall not exceed the three-hectare limit,” Mr. Castriciones said.

“Separate (titles) for each farmer-beneficiary are better because it enables them to have a clear and defined ownership of parcels of land,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

PHL trade balance seen taking hit from higher oil prices

REUTERS

HIGHER OIL PRICES will continue to degrade the Philippines’ trade balance and current account, though improvements are expected with a “slow” economic recovery, according to ANZ Research.

Other threats to the trade balance include disruptions to domestic production and physical constraints on exports, it added.

“These (constraints) are powerful enough to offset the impact of planned public infrastructure spending on imports,” Sanjay Mathur, ANZ Research Chief Economist for Southeast Asia and India said in a note.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the trade deficit stood at $2.76 billion in May, smaller than the $3.08 billion deficit posted in April but larger than the $1.31 billion deficit from a year earlier.

The current account was in deficit by $614 million in the first quarter, a reversal from the $225-million surplus a year earlier, according to the central bank.

The current account includes flows related to trade in goods and services; remittances from overseas Filipino workers; profit from Philippine investments abroad; interest payments to foreign creditors; as well as gifts, grants and donations to and from abroad.

Mr. Mathur said the impact of higher oil prices has been “particularly harsh” and is already reflected in the growth of imports even while the country had not yet seen a “meaningful” re-opening of its economy.

Imports rose 47.7% to $8.65 billion in May from a year earlier.

Despite the risk from higher oil prices, Mr. Mathur said trade is expected to improve. The Philippines will also benefit from the continued rebound of remittance inflows as well as receipts from the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, he added.

“The outlook for remittances and BPO revenues is also turning brighter as Middle East and European economies recover. Remittances from these two geographies had suffered the most last year,” Mr. Mathur said.

On Tuesday, the central bank said cash remittances rose 13% year on year in May to $2.382 billion. This marked the fourth consecutive month of remittance growth and was the largest expansion since the 18.5% posted in November 2016.

Mr. Mathur said the BPO firms are likely to get a boost from the recovery of economic activity in the US, as 60% of the local BPO industry’s revenue is generated by that country. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

More on PERA

Almost 13 years since it passed, Republic Act No. 9505 or The Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) Act of 2008 is again under the spotlight. Late last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported increased investors after PERA became digital in September. To bolster this momentum, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Regulation (RR) No. 6-2021 in April, prescribing additional guidelines to implement the tax provisions of the PERA Act, amending pertinent provisions of RR No. 17-2011 after 10 years.

Before I go through the changes under RR No. 6-2021, let’s re-acquaint ourselves with PERA, particularly its general provisions, benefits, and ramifications to the qualified PERA contributors.

GENERAL PROVISIONS
PERA is a voluntary retirement saving and investment account, which can be set up by any person with the capacity to contract and with a Tax Identification Number (TIN). The contributor, whether locally employed (together with his employer) or self-employed, can contribute to PERA up to P100,000 per calendar year, while the maximum qualified contribution of Overseas Filipinos Workers (OFW) is set at P200,000. For married individuals, each spouse can contribute up to P100,000 each. These maximum qualified contributions are set to double to P200,000 and P400,000, respectively, under Senate Bill No. 1382.

TAX BENEFIT TO EMPLOYER-CONTRIBUTORS
An employer’s contribution to the employee’s PERA may be deducted from its gross income to the extent of the amount needed to complete the maximum allowable PERA contribution. However, it is not entitled to a 5% tax credit which is reserved only for individual contributors. For uniformity, the phrase “Share in Qualified Employee’s PERA Contribution” is to be used as the account name in the books or in the income tax return of the employer.

TAX BENEFITS TO QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS
All income earned from investments and re-investments of a duly accredited PERA is tax-free.

PERA contributions withdrawn or distributed are exempt from income or estate taxes if the individual contributor reaches age 55 and made qualified contributions for at least five years, or upon death, irrespective of age or contributions made.

A qualified individual contributor is entitled to a 5% tax credit of the aggregate qualified PERA contributions made in a calendar year, creditable only against income tax liabilities of employees or self-employed contributors or against any internal revenue tax liabilities of OFW contributors. Under RR No. 6-2021, the 5% tax credit should be evidenced by a PERA-Tax Credit Certificate (TCC). The application for a PERA-TCC must be filed online by the PERA Administrator, through the PERASys software administered by the BSP, within 60 days from the close of the calendar year. The PERA-TCC is to be printed only upon request of utilization by the qualified contributor. Tax credits arising from PERA contributions are non-refundable and non-transferable.

The amount of the PERA-TCC shall be indicated in the applicable tax return of the qualified contributor as a deduction from his tax due under the line item “Other tax credits/payments” and the taxpayer must specifically indicate the phrase “5% PERA-TCC.”

WHAT ABOUT QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTORS EARNING PURELY COMPENSATION INCOME?
Under RR No. 6-2021, in the case of a contributor-employee, the PERA-TCC is to be submitted to the employer so the latter can apply the gross amount of the PERA-TCC in the annual year-end adjustments for computing the net income tax due to be withheld from the contributor-employee.

Under Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 139-2020, the applicable details of the PERA-TCC are to be indicated in the column provided for that purpose in the Annual Alphabetical List of Employees (alphalist), and the Certificate of Compensation Payment/Tax Withheld for Compensation Payment With or Without Tax Withheld (BIR Form No. 2316) of the contributor-employee.

Given that the application for the issuance of the PERA-TCC is filed only within 60 days after the end of the calendar year or until March 1, the timely submission of the PERA-TCC by the contributor-employee to his employer raises concerns since it is not synchronized with the deadline for doing the year-end adjustment of withholding tax due and the filing of employee tax returns. For instance, the deadline for the filing of the December withholding tax return on compensation (BIR Form 1601-C) is between Jan. 11 and 15 of the succeeding year, while the filing of the annual information of income tax withheld (BIR Form 1604-C) with the alphalist, and the issuance of the BIR Form 2316 to the employees is on or before Jan. 31.

Moreover, if the contributor-employee submitted the PERA-TCC after the annual adjustment of withholding tax due, the employer may have to amend the initially reported BIR Forms 1601-C, 1604-C, related alphalist, and 2316 for the employee to enjoy the tax credit. Also, apart from instructions in RMC 139-2020, no clear guidance has been released as to which column employers should report the PERA-TCC in the alphalist and BIR Form 2316. To address these gaps, the BIR should consider issuing clear-cut rules on the submission of PERA-TCC and revisit the existing templates of the alphalist and BIR Form 2316 to incorporate reporting of the PERA-TCC.

RESTRICTIONS ON THE QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTORS
Under RMC No. 139-2020, apart from possible criminal charges, the qualified contributor who uses spurious or fake PERA-TCCs is liable to pay the amount utilized, plus a 50% penalty for fraud and 12% interest per annum.

Further, under RR No. 6-2021, in case of early withdrawal (except those specifically mentioned under the rules and regulations as exempt from penalties), the PERA Administrator is to deduct penalties from the PERA account, before the release of the withdrawal payment, consisting of the 5% tax credit availed for the entire period of the PERA enrollment and 20% of the total income earned from the time of its opening up to the time of withdrawal. The penalties are to be remitted via the online filing and payment facilities of the BIR using BIR Forms 0605 and 1601FQ.

Regrettably, PERA is an underutilized state retirement program unknown to many Filipinos. It is a lost opportunity for a population short of investing skills, where the majority have no bank accounts, let alone know how to open one. The challenge is making PERA inclusive in coverage, equitably available, investor-friendly, and affordable. The possibilities are not remote. As its acronym signifies, PERA is a potential vehicle for wealth growth and an equalizer of social opportunities.

The views or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Isla Lipana & Co. The content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for specific advice.

 

Floredee T. Odulio is an Executive Director at the Client Accounting Services Department of Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of the PwC network.

+63 (2) 8845-2728

floredee.t.odulio@pwc.com

Philippines bans travelers from new virus epicenter Indonesia

THE PHILIPPINES on Wednesday banned travelers from Indonesia, Asia’s new coronavirus epicenter, after it overtook India in daily infections.

The travel ban will be from July 16 to 31 and will cover passengers from Indonesia and those with travel history to Indonesia in the past 14 days, presidential spokesman Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. said in a statement.

Passengers already in transit from Indonesia and who arrive before 12:01AM of July 16 will be allowed entry as long as they get quarantined for two weeks even if they test negative.

“This action is undertaken to prevent the further spread and community transmission of COVID-19 variants in the Philippines,” Mr. Roque said.

Indonesia is now considered Asia’s new coronavirus epicenter after it surpassed India’s daily infections, according to a report by Nikkei Asia.

The world’s largest island country experienced record-breaking infections this week, posting 47,899 cases on Tuesday, it said.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has extended its travel ban on India and six other countries, where a coronavirus variant has caused a surge in infections, until July 30, Mr. Roque told a televised news briefing.

Also covered by the ban that was supposed to end on July 15 was Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

An inter-agency task force also ordered a review of testing and quarantine protocols for incoming travelers from these countries and other high-risk nations, Mr. Roque said.

The Philippines issued the ban to prevent the entry of more contagious coronavirus variants including the Delta one that was first detected in India.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 3,806 coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the total to 1.48 million.

The death toll rose to 26,232 after 140 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 6,296 to 1.41 million, it said in a bulletin. 

There were 44,408 active cases, 90% of which were classified as mild, 3.5% were asymptomatic, 2.8% were severe, 1.95% were moderate and 1.7% were critical.

DoH said nine duplicates had been removed from the tally, eight of which were tagged as recoveries.

The agency said 105 recoveries had been reclassified as deaths. Five laboratories failed to submit data on July 12.

Meanwhile, Mr. Roque said task force recommendations on the next lockdown levels for the rest of the month had been prepared and would be submitted to Mr. Duterte once Metro Manila mayors have appealed.

The task force would have to meet to discuss the appeals, he said.

The general community quarantine “with some restrictions” enforced in the National Capital Region expires after July 15.

Mr. Roque said easing quarantine rules in Metro Manila would depend on coronavirus data. “We will follow the established criteria of looking at the attack rates and health care utilization rate.”

About 43% of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in Metro Manila had been occupied as of July 13, he said.

About 37 % of isolation beds and 32% of ward beds in the region were occupied, while 33% of ventilators were used.

Mr. Roque said 56% of ICU beds in the country had been occupied, while 46% of isolation beds and 42% of ward beds were used. He added that 37% of ventilators had been used.

Coronavirus infections in Manila, Makati, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Mandaluyong, Malabon, Navotas and San Juan rose in the past two weeks, the Department of Health (DoH) said on Tuesday.

Makati and San Juan remained at “high-risk” as their average daily attack rate stood at 9.76 and 8.95 cases for 100,000 people, respectively.

While the “overall case risk classification remained low,” some regions were facing surging coronavirus infections.

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Western Visayas and Davao region were considered high-risk areas due to their high average daily attack rate and ICU occupancy rate.

The ICU use rate stood at 68.54% in CAR, 87.34% in Western Visayas and 81.41% in the Davao region as of July 10. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

1M more vaccines from China arrive in Manila

GOVERNMENT workers carefully transfer the crate containing COVID-19 vaccines CoronaVac (SINOVAC) offloaded from a Chinese military plane.

THE PHILIPPINES on Wednesday took delivery of a million more doses of CoronaVac from China, according to the country’s pandemic task force.

The latest shipment is part of the 26 million doses of CoronaVac the government bought this year, the National Task Force Against COVID-19 tweeted.

The shipment is also the first batch of CoronaVac doses to be delivered to the country this month, it said. It also said 1.5 more CoronaVac doses are expected to arrive on July 17.

The delivery comes after some local governments in the capital region halted the second-dose vaccinations of CoronaVacs as supplies ran out.

The country has received about 13 million doses of CoronaVac, 11.1 million of which were bought by the National Government, a million doses were donated by the Chinese government and 900,000 were paid for by local governments and private companies.

Meanwhile, about 250,800 doses of the vaccine made by Moderna, Inc. would arrive on July 15, presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing.

The government bought 194,400 doses, while the private sector bought the remaining 56,400 doses.

About 13.8 million vaccine doses have been given out as of July 13, about 9.9 million of which were first doses, Mr. Roque said.

The country would take delivery on July 19 of about 3.2 million doses of the vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the Health department earlier said.

The shipment donated by the United States through a global initiative for equal access is part of the 16 million vaccine doses that are set to arrive this month.

Vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. on Monday night said the Philippines would receive about 16.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccines next month. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

No security threat in metro after arrest of ASG members — police

PHILIPPINE police on Wednesday ruled out a security threat in Metro Manila after two suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) were arrested in Taguig City near the capital on July 10.

“We do not see any threat of terrorism here in Metro Manila,” national police chief Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar said in a statement in Filipino posted on their website on Monday.

“Our investigation following the arrest of the two alleged Abu Sayyaf members is ongoing and the investigators are still trying to find out why the suspects are here in the National Capital Region,” he added.

The suspects were identified as Taupik Galbun or “Pa Wahid” and Saik Galbun or “Pa Tanda.”

They were identified by one of the six Jehovah’s Witnesses they kidnapped in Patikul, Sulu in southern Philippines in Aug. 2002.

Mr. Pa Wahid has several arrest warrants against him, including for six counts of kidnapping for ransom.

Aside from kidnapping six Jehovah’s Witnesses, he also allegedly took part in the beheading of three people and in the abduction of three teachers in Zamboanga City.

Mr. Pa Tanda, who was also tagged in the kidnapping of the six Jehovah’s Witnesses, also has a warrant of arrest for kidnapping for ransom.

Police said they were still investigating if the suspects have other allies in Metro Manila, and if they were planning to commit terror acts in the area.

“The police will be on alert to ensure peace and safety here in Metro Manila,” Mr. Eleazar said. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

DENR verifying reported waste dumping in PHL-claimed parts of South China Sea  

THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is already verifying reports that swarms of Chinese ships anchored in Philippine-claimed areas in the South China Sea are dumping human waste there, a department official said on Wednesday. 

US-based geospatial imagery firm Simularity, Inc. earlier reported that Chinese vessels have been dumping raw sewage into the Spratly and Paracel Islands. 

The DENR has already coordinated with the Philippine Coast Guard to verify the correctness of the report, Environment Undersecretary Benny D. Antiporda told a televised news briefing.  

The DENR was also set to coordinate with the Department of National Defense and the Department of Foreign Affairs, he said. 

Simularity founder and Chief Executive Officer Liz Derr earlier told a forum organized by a Philippine think-tank that human waste and wastewater have accumulated at Union Banks in the resource-rich Spratly Islands, where more than 200 Chinese ships have moored. 

The raw sewage led to the overgrowth of harmful algae in the disputed area threatening marine life and damaging corals, she said. 

Mr. Antiporda downplayed the report, saying what the agency found in the image was not “waste discharge” but “most probably oil spill or something which is not human waste.” 

Still, the DENR would investigate the report “since this is to protect our environment,” he said.  

“Iimbestigahan pa rin po natin at aalamin (We will still investigate and find out), just to protect our bio-diversity,” Mr. Antiporda said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza 

 PHL human rights agency cheers policy on letting kids out 

PHILIPPINE STAR/ BOY SANTOS

THE COMMISSION on Human Rights (CHR) welcomed the recent move of the Philippine government allowing children aged five and above to finally go outdoors after more than a year in home confinement due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

“Allowing young people to safely go outdoors will enable social interaction instead of just being glued on their digital devices,” CHR spokesperson Jacqueline Ann C. de Guia said in a statement on Wednesday.  

She noted that there have been multiple reports on the adverse impact of  quarantine restrictions on children’s behavior and mental health. 

Ms. De Guia said outdoor activities will help “revive their physical and mental vitality by being more engaged in the cultural and social life.”  

“More importantly, the outdoor ambiance, opportunity to access diverse recreational and leisure activities, and quality social engagement, can help maintain their well-being and mental health,” she added.  

Ms. De Guia also said allowing children to go out “will help revive businesses and tourist attractions, particularly those that cater to family and children.”  

She reminded, however, that health safety protocols must be strictly observed as children are still at risk for being infected with the virus. 

“The preservation of the children’s well-being and dignity is a collective responsibility. We must still ensure that children will suffer no further harm and that their best interest and basic rights are prioritized as we continue to hurdle through this pandemic,” she said. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago  

Iloilo, Bacolod to appeal strict quarantine status 

A SENIOR citizen gets vaccinated at the Iloilo Convention Center in this photo posted July 12. — @ILOILOCITYGOV 

THE LEADERS of Bacolod City, Iloilo City and the province of Iloilo will appeal the national government’s plan to put their areas under strict lockdown levels from July 16-31, citing adverse impact on the local economy.  

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, in a statement released late Tuesday, said they have just been informed by the national task force handling the coronavirus response that the city and Iloilo province will be placed under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest level. 

“We cannot afford to close all businesses if we go under ECQ — people will be out of work and everyone will be in a most difficult situation,” he said.  

Mr. Treñas also said he has conferred with Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, Jr., who will also file an appeal. 

In Bacolod, Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia said the city cannot afford to again be under modified ECQ, the second strictest level.  

“We will vigorously appeal against the escalation of our community quarantine status,” he said in a statement, noting that coronavirus cases have dropped by 42% in the past two weeks.  

“It is not debatable that many Bacolodnons have already lost their jobs and businesses because of the prolonged community quarantine. We cannot afford to add more restrictions that will extend the freeze on our economic recovery,” he said.  

Mr. Treñas, on the other hand, acknowledged that cases were still increasing as of July 12 and the health care system is at high risk. He assured, however, that “we are doing everything we can to improve our situation.” 

Data from the Department of Health-Western Visayas office show that as of July 13, there were 10,857 active coronavirus cases in the region out of the 74,148 recorded since the start of the pandemic.  

Of the active cases, 2,977 were in Iloilo province, 1,710 in Iloilo City, and 1,435 in Bacolod.  

The rest are in the following provinces: Negros Occidental, 1,744; Aklan, 1,710; Antique, 537; Capiz, 587; and Guimaras, 157.  

The region, which has a population of over 7.9 million, has recorded 61,548 recoveries and 1,712 deaths from coronavirus. — MSJ 

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