IT’S been said that good news is not news. But the news that 900 senior citizens, 60 years old and above, in Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu City were vaccinated is certainly good news. On Monday, April 19, senior citizens from Barangays Mambaling and Mabolo, Cebu City, had their dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 in two different sites in the city. But the news that the woman who complained against the policemen in Sawang Calero Police Station for robbery and rape was shot dead by a riding-in-tandem on Monday night is without doubt bad news.
The inoculation of the frontliners and, now the senior citizens, in Cebu city could be the step toward in further reducing the Covid-19 infection rate aided by strict enforcement of the health laws and obedience by the majority, if not all, of the Cebuanos to the minimum health and safety protocols. This is good news for Cebu City that I wish the residents will continue the discipline to slow down, if not stop, the spread of this virus.
The Covid-19 Case Bulletin of the Department of Health (DOH)-Central Visayas showed that as of Monday, April 19, the active cases in Cebu City was reduced to 892 from 984 on Sunday, April 18. Lapu-Lapu City has 824 active cases from 833, Mandaue City has 554 from 579 and the Province of Cebu tremendously dropped to 1,002 from 1,155. The meteoric surge of the Covid-19 infection two months ago should serve as lesson for us not to be complacent.
The IATF Visayas lead by retired Army Major General Mel Feliciano and his local counterparts deserve praise for keeping the Covid-19 infection rate down despite reports of the discovery of the alleged new variant. We also deserve a pat in the back for supporting the local government officials, DOH and IATF in complying with the health protocols. The National Capital Region, Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces should emulate on how we did it here.
Yesterday, the senior citizens from Barangays Kinsang-an, Basak-Pardo, Banilad and Talamban, Cebu City were vaccinated in the same sites. But prior to the vaccination of the senior citizens, there was a question raised if the basis of DOH or Cebu City Health Office (CHO) in the listing for vaccination is the place of residence or the voting residence of the senior citizens. I made the same query in my previous column and in social media, but I did not get a response from the responsible city and barangay officials.
I read somewhere that DOH-7 has the online registration platform for senior citizens who want to be vaccinated. Unfortunately for me, I don't know where to find that online registration platform of DOH and for the past days and weeks, I did not notice that someone from the barangay office or the CHO knock on our door to enlist us for the vaccination.
On the other hand, it's bad news that Ritchie Nepomuceno, 35, the complainant against the 10 policemen assigned in Sawang Calero, was killed. It would be unfair though to suspect the 10 suspended cops and facing robbery and rape complaints as responsible in the murder of Nepumoceno. News reports have it that Nepomuceno died after she was shot in the head by the riding-in-tandem. But believe me, suspicions could not be avoided since the criminal cases against these cops would not prosper since Nepomuceno is dead.
The police investigators should not leave any stone unturned in determining the murderer of Nepomuceno in order to free the 10 cops from any suspicion on Nepomuceno's death.