MAYOR BENG Climaco has approved the issuance of color-coded quarantine passes to minimize the presence of people in public areas and prevent the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus, or Covid-19, in Zamboanga. Each family will get one color-coded pass and this will enable the hol der to go out and buy Continue on page 7
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The Zamboanga Post
April 20-26, 2020
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ALF OF Zamboanga’s poorest population was taken out from the government’s Special Amelioration Program, or SAP, and now the local government is asking for additional funding to feed all those removed from the cash emergency subsidy. Mayor Beng Climaco are continually rolling this out of the DSWD list of said Zamboanga has more out, and in fact all of the poor beneficiaries. than 200,000 poor families departments of the local “Yun budget namin who are supposed ben- government ay nagtutu- allocated really in the eficiaries of the SAP, but lungan para i-print ang fight against Covid-19 is the Department of Social 500 reams ng mga papel around P400 million supWelfare and Development, (for Social Amelioration plemental at kasama na or DSWD, only approved Card) at iniro-rollout na rin dito ang mga bayad sa 112,000 families based on namin sa mga different ating mga workers, bagits 2015 census. barangays at mayroon ori- ama’t itong napagkasyaBut Zamboanga was entation and afterwards han namin (budget) to not alone. Almost all local evaluation and distribu- fight Covid-19 and kulang governments in the coun- tion,” she said. ang supplemented funds try also complained that Climaco said the lo- namin to also provide for the DSWD has removed cal government has been all those na hindi naisali sa many poor beneficiaries using its P400 million SAP kaya magre-request from the SAP list. supplemental budget its na lang kami ng additional “There are supposed efforts to fight the spread funding from the nationto be more than 200,000 of the Covid-19, among al government so that we families (who are bene- other related expenses will be able to address the ficiaries of SAP), but this and it needs more funds to items, the number of famwas cut down (by DSWD) sustain the SAP, particular- ilies originally allocated to around 112,000 and we ly those that were stricken kasi ang basis nila (DSWD) is 2015 data and we are now 2020 and we know the DSWD will be able to allocate the second wave of assistance,” she said. The SAP is intended for some 18 million families whose lives are greatly affected by the enhanced community quarantine imposed by President Rodrigo Duterte in March following the outbreak of the pandemic which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year. “We are rolling out already the distribution of SAP and bagama’t kulang ang identified families ng DSWD, we will really comply. We are thankful to (DSWD) Secretary Roland Bautista and we are trying to be very fully cooperative by reaching out to the families, and in fact meron tayong innovation sa Zamboanga City and there are residents na nanghiram ng mga drones from the City Government at pina-plot nila yun mga kabahayan sa bundok na napakalayo para mareach out sila ng ating mga social workers kasi kung mano-mano ang gagawin ay napakalayo ng mga bahay at kung aakyatin nila and we will do it with the use of technology. The Ateneo de Zamboanga University and the Western Mindanao State University are helping us with the contact tracing of the patients,” Climaco said. She also suggested that overseas Filipino workers, be tested for Covid-19 before they are allowed entry to Zamboanga. She cited the dozens of Filipinos who arrived from Covid-infected Sabah in Malaysia and were quarantined on Sibakel
Island off Basilan province’s Lantawan town last month. “Yun mga persons na pumasok galing sa Sibakel Island sa Basilan after the 21-day period quarantine none of them were really tested and we would also like to recommend to OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administrator) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac that we will really comply with the policy directives of the national government na papasukin ang ating mga OFWs na stranded sa Metro Manila and Clark (International Airport) kung puwede - kasi may access naman sa DOH - if possible to have all of them tested so that the local government units will not be burden in a way na tatanggapin na-
tin and then ipapa-quarantine na naman.” “Kasi hindi naman enough yun quarantine certificate na asymptomatic, it will really be best for the help of the local government units kasi wala naman naibibigay na test kits sa Zamboanga City, so sila (OWWA and DOH) na lang ang magswab at ipakita sa kanila ang quarantine certificate na they have been tested and found negative bago sila (OFWs) papasukin kasi nga iyon ang requirements sa atin mga lungsod na kailangan natin tanggapin ang mga OFWs na nag-quarantine sa ibat-ibang lugar,” Climaco further explained. She said the security forces and village leaders are now on the frontline
and guarding the borders to prevent the entry of suspected Covid-infected people from Malaysia. “Well, nag-lockdown na rin yun Sulu at Tawi-Tawi and they are very strict, but again we really cannot prevent the entry of persons coming in from Malaysia in these borders and that is why the Philippine Coast Guard down to our barangay captains are the ones monitoring the entry of persons into the city of Zamboanga,” Climaco said. Zamboanga has hundreds of suspected Covid-19 cases and nearly 2 dozen related deaths and 8 confirmed cases, although one of them had recovered from the deadly disease. (Zamboanga Post)
The Zamboanga Post
April 20-26, 2020
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Zambo farmers to get rice seeds soon PAGADIAN CITY – Farmers in Zamboanga Peninsula are soon to receive rice seeds under the government’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said. It said a total of 63,569 bags (20kg/bag) of rice certified seeds have arrived and are set to be distributed to registered farmers from April to June. The certified seeds which are produced at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) will be given to qualified farmers listed under RCEF program and registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture.
The beneficiaries should be members of active farmers and irrigators association identified and validated by the local government units in Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay, according to DA Regional Executive Director Rad Donn Cedeño. “There are ongoing deliveries of certified inbred seeds in the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay here in Region 9. We make sure these deliveries are not hampered even while we are under enhanced community quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic,” he said. The two provinces are the major rice producers
in the region with recorded high yield and production every cropping season. “As of April 14, Philrice was able to deliver rice certified seeds in the municipalities of Dimataling, Guipos, Dumingag, and Mahayag, Zamboanga del Sur. All seeds (bags) are expected to be delivered in the other identified municipalities by the end of the month.” Cedeño said. He said in every half hectare farm, a farmer-beneficiary will receive one bag of seeds and a farmer can avail a maximum of 6 bags or equivalent to a three hectare rice fields. (Inelin Cabeguin. With a report from the Zamboanga Post.)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Following nearly 2 dozen suspected coronavirus, of Covid-19, deaths and hundreds more being monitored by local health authorities, Mayor Beng Climaco has appealed for more medical support and test kits for hospitals here. “What we are appealing from the local government unit of Zamboanga, on behalf of Region 9 - Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi - is that if we have this tests available in Zamboanga City that’s approved by the RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine) so we will be able to easily test our suspected patients at para maloan natin sa ating mga hospital facilities sapagkat napakatagal tayong makakuha ng results and sometimes yun pasyente natin paglabas na positive siya eh matagal na natin namo-monitor sa ospital,” Climaco explained. Many “persons under investigation,” or PUI, in Zamboanga died even before their Covid-19 test results could come out. PUI is a person that shows symptoms of cough, colds and fever with a travel or contact history to countries or person that is affected with Covid- 19, and being admitted in the hospital for observation. “Ang hinihiniling po namin talaga sa the Department of Health (DOH) is to make available information now for us to know kung ano ang mga gamot and remedies that can easily be purchased by local government units sapagkat mayroon pong ninanais ang ating mga neighbors from other places also that DOH may be accessed by us so that makatulong po tayo sa fight against Covid,” Climaco said. She said Zamboanga which is under a strict enhanced community quarantine since last month is
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struggling to combat the spread of the deadly virus and the number of those getting infected continue to rise. She said Zamboanga City has not receive any Covid-19 test kits despite the mounting cases since the enhanced community quarantine was imposed to prevent the spread of the pandemic. “Ano po ang maibibigay na solution (ng DOH) para sa amin because not everyone that is swabbed is being tested (because) meron po silang very strict criteria with the RESU (Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit) and that is where our backlog is kasi ang sinasabi ng mga local government units kung mabigyan kami ng access ng DOH to test as many possible suspects as we can, it will really ease the burden on our hospitals, it will ease the burden on the local government units so we are asking and appealing from DOH to help us rapidly, positively test these cases if they are positive in a way we will be able to ensure that health services will be provided at the earliest possible time,” Climaco said. “Wala (hindi) po kami nabigyan ng test kits sa Zamboanga City and the only process we are observing is the DOH swabbing so ang sinasabi namin ay may kakayahan ang mga local government units to buy the test kits, but the question is maa-aprubahan ba ito ng DOH although this is FDA-approved pero dadaan at dadaan pa rin ito sa RITM and that is why in order to help fight Covid-19 outside of Metro Manila kami po dito sa Mindanao ay wala pong natatanggap na rapid test kits, but we do not want to burden the national government because we have over 5,000 cases and we have the finances to purchase these test kits,” she added. Climaco said Zamboanga has over 100 PUIs
and nearly 600 PUMs or those with travel and contact history to countries or person that is affected with Covid-19, but not displayed any symptoms of the virus and are just advised to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine at home to be monitored by health workers. PUIs and PUMs were old DOH Covid-19 classifications which have been modified to 3 categories: Suspect, Probable and Confirmed cases. She also asked the DOH for more protective gears for hospital, frontline and health workers. “Right now the City Government has provided the PPEs for our public hospitals, and even our private hospitals, very limited I think the DOH only gave 10 PPEs for Zamboanga City, but we are providing the PPEs and courtesy of our sister city in China, and other generous groups and people. This is really the private-partnerships of Zamboangueno communities and Chinese sisterhood agreements (Guigang City) that we have,” she said, referring to the donations of various organizations and groups, and individuals. But many residents are now restless and angry and were blaming village officials and the Department of Social Welfare and Development for allegedly failing to provide them more provision since they cannot go out due to the strict quarantine guidelines, and all this despite the aggressive efforts of the local government to feed and keep them safe from Covid-19. The local government has provided food packs - rice, grocery items and even vitamins - to over 150,000 households in almost all 98 villages, mostly to poor families, and the distribution of relief assistance continues as Climaco ordered an intensified food program for all. (Zamboanga Post)
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The Zamboanga Post
April 20-26, 2020
Zamboanga Pictures in the News
April 20-26, 2020
The Zamboanga Post
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Zamboanga Pictures in the News
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The Zamboanga Post
April 20-26, 2020
Across : 1. ___ Beta Kappa 4. “___ Got a Secret” 7. Slumber 12. Spain’s cont. 13. Nothing 14. ___ dot 15. Pseudonyms 17. Small landmases 18. Talked back 19. Chicken part 20. Truman’s monogram 21. Retiree’s acct. 22. Peaks 24. Quandary 29. Lion’s sound 30. Barrel 31. Vietnam’s neighbor 32. Wyoming’s neighbor 34. Speed contests 35. Voice actor ___ Blanc 36. ___ snail’s pace (2 wds.) 37. Accumulate over time 41. Fashion’s ___ Cardin 44. Slobber 45. Roped 46. Thick 47. Imitate 48. Vane dir. 49. Like honey 50. Petrol 51. Electrified particle
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April 20-26, 2020
DILG accuses politicians of violating quarantine policies INTERIOR SECRETARY Eduardo Año has ordered 3 governors and two mayors to answer allegations against them for violating national quarantine policies. Año said the officials reportedly violated the quarantine directives issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. He did not identify the officials said the “the point of all of these national policies is to ensure unity, cohesion, and order in the entire country during the novel coronavirus, or Covid-19, crisis which requires the local governments’ full cooperation and compliance.” “As directed by the President himself, we will not go easy on local government officials who will violate the prescribed di-
rectives during the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine), that’s the mandate of the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) – local government supervision. Therefore, we have no choice but to issue show cause orders and file the necessary charges against them, when necessary, kagaya ng ginawa natin sa ilang barangay official na lumabag din sa quarantine policies,” he said. Año said the officials were ordered to submit a written explanation stating clearly why no administrative cases should be filed against them for negligence, dereliction of duty, and violation of the Bayanihan Act. “Failure to do so will result to an automatic administrative case to be filed before the Office
of the Ombudsman. The officials may also face criminal charges from the National Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice,” he said. “Kagaya ng ating ginagawa sa mga pagkakataong tulad nito, we are giving them due process to explain and defend themselves because they enjoy the presumption of regularity in the exercise of official functions unless overturned by sufficient evidence,” he said. He repeatedly warned local chief executives to strictly follow the national quarantine policies. “We consider the local governments as our partners from the very beginning but once we have exhausted all avenues for dialogue, we have no choice but to start filing cases. Hahabulin namin sila,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)
Zambo Sur now Covid-free PAGADIAN CITY – A seven-year old boy tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the town of Dumalinao in Zamboanga del Sur province is now free from the deadly respiratory disease. The boy tested negative after a series of tests and members of his family were all tested also and showed no signs of the virus, also called Covid-19.
He is the 3rd to have been infected with the deadly respiratory disease in the province. Two other positive Covid-19 cases also recovered and were discharged from the hospital recently after their RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction) test results showed negative for the Covid-19. The duo, a 52-year old
man in Labangan town and a 62-year old woman in the capital city of Pagadian, had travelled history in Manila and returned home separately on commercial plane on March 14 and March 8, respectively. The whole province remains under an enhanced community quarantine to prevent the spread of the disease. (Zamboanga Post)
Continued from page 1 their essential needs on a certain period. This new guideline was finalized after Cli maco met with the security sector represented by Zamboanga City Police Director Col. Thomas Joseph Martir and Joint Task Force Zamboanga chief, Col. Antonio John Divinagracia, and Vice Mayor Rommel Agan, among others. Atty. Kenneth Vincent Beldua, Secretary to the City Council, also explained this at a recent presser at City Hall together with City Administrator Apple Go. He said the color-coded passes are all printed by the City Government and distributed by the barangay officials to individual families. The first phase of the implementation of color-coded is as follows: Quarantine Pass A: holders of this pass are allowed to leave their residence on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; Quarantine Pass B: allowed to leave their residences on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. And if the situation
so demands, he said the mayor will implement the second phase following the color-coding scheme where quarantine pass holders are allowed to leave twice a week only depending on their assigned color. Beldua said essential workers shall also be issued a special pass, but in the meantime, they can present their company ID or employer’s certificate to police checkpoints. He said frontliners such as medical workers, social workers and the like, government officials and employees performing governmental functions or forming part of the skeletal workforce of the various agencies and other emergency responders shall only be required their ID at the checkpoints. And on Sundays, Beldua said no quarantine pass shall be honored, except for medical emergencies. “This is the time where we need to disinfect and clean public areas,” he said. He said those with illnesses requiring constant medical attention and procedures such as dialysis, chemotherapy and the like are exempted. “They will just need to present their
medical certificate. Their companion or watcher shall likewise be allowed to accompany them,” Beldua said. He said the mayor also approved an emergency ordinance protecting Covid-19 patients, PUIs and PUMs and members of their family, including medical workers and other frontliners from discrimination. The ordinance also contains prohibition on the restriction of movements of medical and other frontliners; violation of the strict home quarantine; disclosure of confidential personal information of patients, PUMs and PUIs; the non-wearing of face masks in public; non-observance of the social distancing rule and non-observance of curfew hours which is from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and prohibiting the drinking liquor in public; the conduct of mass gatherings; disregarding checkpoints and hoarding of essential commodities. The penalties for the above violations include imprisonment from 1 day to one year and or fine ranging from P500 to P5000. (Zamboanga Post)
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April 20-26, 2020
April 20-26, 2020
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China continues to help Philippines fight Covid-19 A
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NPA attacks Zambo troops in Covid drive anew