"WHEN we woke up today, we were shocked."
Frank Carbon, executive director of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stressed this after Bacolod City was put under stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) effective September 8 until 30.
He said that based on the guidelines, some businesses are allowed to open but there is no public transportation.
"Even our employees cannot report for work. Restaurants are open for delivery only. What's worse is the MECQ is until September 30," he said.
Carbon said the National Government has recognized that the coronavirus pandemic "is not just health crisis but also a livelihood crisis."
"Many have already lost their jobs because they worry not only about their health but also about what to eat every day," he pointed out.
He added that 90 percent of those employed are using public transportation.
"We in the business sector want to know where is the transmission happening and how," Carbon said. "We believe that if the transmission is happening in just a few barangays in the city, they should be the only ones in lockdown."
"We support the granular lockdown approach," Carbon added.
Carbon said the business sector will attend a consultation organized by the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental and scheduled on Wednesday, September 9.
During the Cabinet meeting on Monday, September 7, Secretary Carlito Galvez, chief implementer of the Inter-Agency Task Force, recommended that the quarantine status of the city, along with that of Lanao del Sur, will be upgraded to MECQ.
A few minutes later, the IATF came out Resolution 69-A that enforced the recommendation.