FREEPORTS AND ECOZONES
Keeping up with the new normal By January Guia Caringal-Bawat
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The Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC) has remained resilient throughout this pandemic. While the whole country is battling COVID-19, the PPMC continuously organizes activities that ensure the safety of its employees, staff, and neighbors. The PPMC—together with the National Task Force (NTF), the Provincial Government of La Union, the City Government of San Fernando, the Poro Point Freeport Zone (PPFZ) management, and barangays—held a three-day aggressive Community Swab Testing at the PPMC Administration grounds on October 20 to 22. The said off-site swabbing tested a total of 2,716 individuals from priority sectors, such as tricycle drivers, ambulant vendors, officials and health workers from different
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barangays, uniformed personnel from the Police Regional Office 1, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy, and Philippine Coast Guard, locally stranded individuals (LSIs), and other frontline workers. Out of the 2,716 individuals, only two tested positive for COVID-19. After the mass testing, everyone was urged to continue the collaborative efforts and proper observance of minimum health protocols in fighting the virus. On October 22, a simultaneous meeting was held at the Agora Events Hall, Thunderbird Hotel & Resorts, to discuss the current situation in La Union. Attendees of the meeting included the Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) team members of the NATF, NTF chief implementer Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr., Bases Conversion and Development
