A top-ranking official of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board regional office 10 (LTFRB-10) here said all public utility jeepneys (PUJs) are still allowed to operate with their regular respective destinations.
LTFRB 10 Director Aminoden Guro told reporters yesterday that PUJs are allowed, provided that their passengers are members of the APOR or Authorized Persons Outside of Residence, and they also observe stricter protocols on the wearing of facemask, face shields and social distancing.
Dir Guro has clarified this in response to the growing concerns of the public sector for transportation as the city has been leveled up to Modified Enhance Community Quarantine (MECQ) due to the alarming rise of covid positive cases in the city.
Last week alone, the city has maintained over a hundred positive cases everyday as compared to its record in the past of only 30 covid cases everyday.
Over the weekend, the City of Cagayan de Oro has 170 total cases. It registered highest numbers of positive cases last May
Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno said he has already expected a much higher level of quarantine due to the city’s high critical care utili
zation rate (CCUR).
MORENO ASKS FOR GCQ; IATF DECIDES FOR MECQ
“The city´s CCUR and its risk assessment is very high, we cannot ignore that. Even if some of our cases involve people outside Cagayan de Oro City, we cannot discount that because they are admitted in the city´s hospitals . (And the Inter-Agency Task Force will evaluate all of these factors),´ Mayor Moreno said during a press briefing Saturday.
Mayor Moreno earlier confirmed that he asked the IATF to place the city under general community quarantine (GCQ) to cushion the quarantine restrictions on the city´s economy.
“Again, I asked for GCQ because I know who will be hurt by the ECQ and the MECQ—the ´no work, no pay´ workers, the private sector and government employees who cannot ride to work, the public transport sector who won´t earn due to the lockdown and so on. Hopefully, the IATF can see that (and take it under consideration),´ Mayor Moreno said last Saturday.
The members of the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) has decided to place the city under MECQ after their evaluation pointed the city as under high risk management.
MAYOR APPEALS TO RESIDENTS
Mayor Moreno has appealed once again to city residents to discipline themselves and go out only if they have very important matters in a day.
Mayor Moreno asked the people of Cagayan de Oro City to help their City Hall to stop the COVID-19 surge. “To the people of Cagayan de Oro, please help our hospitals, help NMMC (Northern Mindanao Medical Center) overcome the surge by helping yourselves (by complying with minimum public health standards),´ the city mayor said.
OTHER AREAS UNDER MODIFIED ECQ
Aside from the city, other areas in Mindanao under MECQ are Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga City, Butuan City and Agusan del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte from June 1 up to June 2015. In Visayas and Luzon, those under MECQ are City of Santiago in Cagayan Valley, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Puerto Princesa City and Iloilo City. – 30 –
News Update: 7:40pm , June 1, 2021
