Visayas chief implementer: LGUs should comply with national gov't protocols

All local government units should comply with COVID-19 quarantine protocols set by the national government, National Task Force Chief Implementer for Visayas Chief Implementer Melquiades Feliciano said Wednesday.

Feliciano made the assertion a day after Cebu governor Gwen Garcia proposed differing quarantine protocols on arrivals in Cebu: testing for COVID-19 upon arrival for Cebu residents and testing for COVID-19 on the seventh day of quarantine for non-Cebu residents.

"Inaantay pa response sa appeal ni Governor Gwen, kung yes or no. Once nag-decide ang national government, dapat sumunod naman lahat," Feliciano said during Laging Handa.

(We are still awaiting the response to Governor Gwen's appeal, if yes or no. Once the national government decides, everyone should follow.)

Garcia's insistence on the testing upon arrival scheme has already prompted the government to divert Cebu-bound flights to Manila.

President Rodrigo Duterte had already met with Garcia on this quarantine dispute three weeks ago, with the President ordering Garcia to comply with quarantine protocols set by the national government.

Garcia, however, did not relent, prompting the national government officials, including Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, to meet her in Cebu on Tuesday.

Feliciano said Garcia was arguing that current Cebu protocols worked in addressing COVID-19 surges in Cebu, and that the province's COVID-19 response teams were strictly monitoring those under home quarantine.

“It was convenient for Cebu, financially and for OFWs who went home because of an emergency, but it is up for the national government to decide,” Feliciano added.

The national government, citing accounts of the country's infectious disease doctors, has insisted on testing on the seventh day of quarantine for an accurate COVID-19 test results since the disease has a specific incubation period before detection. -MDM, GMA News