Mayor Jerry P. Treñas assured the public that the Iloilo City Government is “doing [its] best” to prevent the entry of the deadly coronavirus into the metropolis.

On Sunday, March 8, a day after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the first case of local transmission of the disease in the country, Treñas announced the postponement and cancellation of all activities in Iloilo City sponsored by the city government.

“In the light of the present situation of COVID-19 in the country and the various protocols suggested by the DOH and WHO (World Health Organization), I am hereby directing that the Iloilo Summer Arts Festival be transferred to October of this year. By then the situation would have already improved and concerns with COVID-19 would hopefully have diminished,” he said.

Launched in December last year, the Iloilo Summer Arts Festival is supposed to run from April ro May this year. It is part of the efforts to make Iloilo City the “center for culture and arts.”

Treñas also postponed the celebration of the Paraw Regatta Festival next month. This is second postponement of the festival.

“The festival will have to be postponed for the same reasons. I will sit down with the organizers to discuss what date is most feasible under the circumstances,” the mayor said.

Treñas also decided to call off all moving up activities of daycare centers in the city.

“All the certificates of the children will be released directly by the day care teachers to the parents,” he said. 

“The safety of all Ilonggos is the paramount consideration for all our decisions,” Treñas stressed.

The mayor will also “sit down with the school authorities to discuss what best should be done about scheduled baccalaureate masses and graduation ceremonies.”

Treñas likewise instructed Dr. Roland Fortuna of the City Health Office “to conduct a series of conferences for the various cleaning procedures and medical protocols for the city hall, the markets, the schools, the hotels, health centers, transport terminals, churches, and other commercial establishments.”

The “utmost cooperation of everyone”, according to Mayor, is very important in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

As of March 8, the DOH recorded 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19. All are outside the Western Visayas region.IMT

Photo of Treñas by Arnold Almacen