AT LEAST 11 show cause orders (SCOs) have been issued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to barangay officials in Cebu City, an official said on Wednesday, July 15, 2020.
Since he arrived in Cebu on June 25, 2020, the barangay officials of Guadalupe, Capitol Site, San Nicolas Proper, Cogon Pardo, Bulacao, Inayawan, Sto. Niño, Calamba, Basak San Nicolas and Basak Pardo have been issued SCOs for various quarantine protocol violations, said DILG Assistant Secretary Alexander Macario.
Macario also said two cases are pending in the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), while there are four under further investigation.
He said the barangay officials involved have failed to implement the community quarantine rules.
“I would like again to have our 80 barangay captains for the full cooperation for the programs in the city under the leadership of Mayor Edgardo Labella so that we can address positively the issues and concerns with regard to the pandemic,” Macario told reporters.
Of the 10 barangays that were issued SCOs, only Calamba was issued twice after its barangay captain and one of its councilors were made to answer after some of their residents were involved in a benefit disco in the barangay.
When asked by the media about the updates on the complaints, Macario said no verdict has been made yet.
He also encouraged the village chiefs to actively participate in the city’s Covid-19 response, especially with the aggressive contact tracing the City will undertake.
He said barangay captains play a vital role because they know more about their barangays and constituents.
Since the local police will now join the contact tracing, Macario said the village chiefs should assist them should there be residents who will resist and not cooperate with them.
In case of any resistance from the residents, the village chiefs should help in convincing their constituents, he said. (JJL)