BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Bacolod Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran met with the fish vendors of the Burgos Public Market yesterday to clarify issues on the surveillance testing they are being required to undergo by the city government.
Familiaran said the fish vendors requested for a dialog to clarify the misinformation or fake news that said those who will be swabbed will undergo a 14-day quarantine period and if they test positive for the COVID-19 virus, their family members will undergo swab testing at their own expense.
He said other issues raised during the dialog was the closure of the whole market if a vendor or vendors tests positive for the virus.
Familiaran said the vendors also asked about the medical expense and the daily food supply of their families if they are made to undergo quarantine. The vendors said their young children need milk while the city government only provides rice and canned goods for food assistance.
The vice mayor explained that the surveillance testing is being implemented simultaneously throughout the country as mandated by the national government.
He also told them that the mayor does not want the ire of the people and even wrote the National Inter-Agency Task Force on July 14 to place Bacolod City under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) instead of General Community Quarantine (GCQ) which it had recommended.
The fish vendors also requested that the Sunday lockdown of the major markets be lifted, he said.
Meanwhile, Familiaran said he will personally request Councilor and Liga ng mga Barangay president Lady Gles Pallen to amend City Ordinance No. 941 in order to extend the October 8 deadline for the implementation of the BaCTrac System since he believes that not everyone will be able to register before the deadline.
The BaCTrac app that was officially launched by the city government on September 29 will enable Bacolod City to use the South Cotabato Covid Contact Tracing System (SC-CCTS), where the program was initially developed.*
