DOH will report cases, says Mayor Isko after P100K offer to COVID-free Manila barangays

One day after announcing a P100,000 reward for barangays with zero COVID-19 cases from September 1 to October 31, 2020, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno on Wednesday vowed accurate reporting of cases in the city.

Moreno explained that it is not the barangay officials who report COVID-19 cases but the Department of Health.

“It is DOH and MHD [Manila Health Department] ang nakakaalam ng impeksiyon sa komunidad. At ang mga taong ito ay may specific address at 'yung addresses na 'yon ay may specific na barangay. Kaya malalaman namin on our end kung 'yung barangay ay qualifier,” Moreno told GMA News.

The mayor also said that the financial incentive will not only help fight the spread of the virus but also help barangays whose budgets are almost depleted.

“At this time, marami nang barangay na halos ubos na ang budget. So hirap na rin. Give and take. Sige, tulong kami sa budget n'yo but meron tayong deal na starting September 1 to October 31 na kapag nagkaroon kayo ng zero cases ng COVID-19, we’ll give you a grant of P100,000 per barangay,” Moreno said.

The Manila City government has allocated P89.6 million for the program.

As of August 31, 2020, Manila has 8,110 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 874 of these cases are active, while 6,911 have recovered and 277 have died.

Intramuros reported the lowest number of infections with five active cases.

But officials of Barangays 655 and 658, both inside Intramuros, have not reported a single case for the past month.

Barangay 655, which has a population of more than 2,000, had more than 10 cases two months ago.

Barangay 655 Chairman Pedrito Yapug, Sr. hopes to maintain their zero-record, not only for the financial incentive but also for the health of his constituents.

“Sa pagiging vigilant lang sa pagbabantay. Katulad niyan, yung mga crowded places na mga compound, 24 hours ang pagbabantay namin diyan. Hindi kami nagpapapasok diyan ng taga-ibang lugar. At the same time, kung mayroong papasok, sinisiguro namin na kung wala siyang rapid test ay na-swab test siya bago siya nakapasok,” Yapug told GMA News.

“Kung sakaling palarin kami, bonus yon. Pero our first concern ay maiwasan namin talaga ito na mayroon ano sa barangay namin,” he added.

Barangay 658, on the other hand, has a population of almost 6,000.

But it has reported only one COVID case during the pandemic: a health worker who got infected in March.

“Lagi po kaming nagre-remind sa lahat ng tao regarding po sa guidelines ng IATF sa handwashing, face mask, face shield, social distancing. Kasabay din po doon is yung lagi po naming pagro-roving,” Francis Hidalgo, Administrative Officer of Barangay 658, told GMA News.

The top three areas with the most number of active COVID=19 cases, on the other hand, are Tondo 1 with 181 cases, Sampaloc with 178, and Tondo 2 with 100. — BM, GMA News