THE spat between City Administrator Floro Casas Jr. and Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, inter-agency task force deputy implementer, on the issue of the implementation of granular lockdown that was supposed to begin last weekend was just a result of non-coordination between the two officials.
For me, it was not a big deal, but there were people, both in the administration and in the opposition, who tried to make a big issue out of it just to derail Mayor Edgardo Labella’s Covid-19 response, and tried to make it appear in public that City Hall officials are not united in their efforts to fight Covid-19.
Councilor Garganera, also deputy chief implementer of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) in Cebu City, said there are 26 barangays that are being mulled for granular lockdowns or sitio-targeted lockdowns of Covid-19 affected areas.
Although he did not reveal the 26 barangays, Garganera said most that made the cut are the biggest barangays in the city with larger populations. Still, the final list was made by the Office of the Mayor. But the list leaked over the weekend, prompting Garganera to question the leakage. He suspected that the leak came from the executive department. It was premature.
So what’s wrong with the leak when the same areas have been listed and no major changes so far have been made? The Cebu City Government placed six areas with a high number of Covid-19 cases under granular lockdown. All individuals within the areas under strict lockdown are prohibited from leaving their houses. The City Government will distribute food packs and other necessities to all families affected.
These are Sitio Eyha of Guadalupe; Balata Drive to Sitio Cekalko in Barangay Labangon; Tuada compound in Barangay Tisa; Sitio San Isidro in Barangay Quiot; Abellanosa compound in Barangay Quiot and C. Mina Ext. in Barangay, Mabolo.
I think there is no need for our local leaders to fight or to assert their right. Instead of fighting, which sometimes makes them appear funny in public, they should unite for the common good. Set aside personal and political differences. There is no time for politics nowadays. Intrigues have no place in these trying times. Let’s all unite. After all, we have one common enemy. That is Covid-19.