Cebu gov’s brother dies of Covid-19
BARILI, Cebu: Mayor Marlon Garcia of this town, a second-class municipality in south Cebu, passed away on Sunday. On August 6, the deceased mayor’s sister, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, disclosed that he tested positive for the coronavirus.
“To lose one brother is painful enough, but to lose another brother in the same week… my heart just cannot take any further [hurt]. The true fighter that he was, my brother Marlon, has been fighting for his life for the last few weeks,” said Marlon’s brother, Winston Garcia, on Facebook. “This morning, he joins my brother, Nelson, and my mother in heaven. My brother was a loving husband, son, father, grandfather, brother, cousin, uncle and friend, who served his people proudly as Mayor of Barili.”
Marlon Garcia served Barili as mayor from 2016 to 2020. Last June, he attested that tuob (steam therapy) was effective in fighting the virus in spite of the Department of Health warning it had “no scientific basis” and may even lead to spreading the virus. His brother, the former mayor of Dumanjug town, also passed away on September 1 due to an undisclosed condition.
On a positive note, the local government units (LGUs) of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and Baguio signed a memorandum of agreement in a meeting with Department of Tourism (DoT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat at the Baguio Country Club last week to reopen borders to visitors starting September 21.
“This is just a start, but we can expand it and allow those from other areas as we progress to the full opening of tourism under the new normal,” said Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, promoting the “bubble” tourism corridor.
Magalong, who hosted the meeting during the 111th Baguio Charter Day anniversary, said the LGUs will initially accept tourists from areas with few Covid-19 cases, using the Visita (Visitors Information and Tourist Assistance) app, which was developed by Baguio using funds from the Tourism Promotion Board.
Aloysius Mapalo, Baguio tourism officer, said visitors have to pre-register using Visita and be booked in a hotel that has a certificate authorizing operation from the DoT and the LGU with an accredited tour agency managing their itinerary.
“We will require it so that we can make sure that the establishment is compliant with health standards and has a response plan while the tour agency will assure a monitored itinerary to [prevent their customers from] going to prohibited places,” he said, stressing tourists will not be allowed to stay with relatives or friends.
At the border, they will be led to a triage, where they will be swab-tested at their own expense and wait for the result at the hotel. Those tested negative can proceed with their itinerary while those who test positive will be handled by the LGU and the hotel.
“Muk hang kay o an gm au unang mag bubuk as( It looks like you will be the first to reopen your tourism industry). Everything is in place,” Puyat said. “I receive several calls from establishments to allow the opening of tourism in their places, but this is a decision lodged [with] the LGUs. We will not push the opening of places to tourists if they are not ready,” said Puyat during the meeting.
In the same meeting, Ilocos Sur Gov. Ryan Luis Singson appreciated that “this is happening” and that Baguio has included them in its plan, saying, “We have wanted to open our tourism, but we are at a loss on how to do it. We will join the bandwagon for the North Luzon tourism corridor.”
On Sept. 5, 2020, Baguio City logged zero virus cases. Moreover, there were seven recoveries reported on Saturday, reducing the number of active cases to 78.
Magalong and City Health Officer Dr. Rowena Galpo said this was a welcome development but reminded the public not to be complacent, saying, “Please observe all these protocols even if no one is looking, even if there are no police authorities present to remind you. This is our new normal and we have to embrace it so we can learn to live with the virus and move on with our lives.”
Meanwhile, in Nueva Vizcaya, Covid-19 cases surged close to 200 on Sunday with the addition of 25 new cases on Saturday and 19 on Sunday, according to the Provincial Integrated Health Office (PIHO). Dr. Edwin Galapon, PIHO chief, said the new cases bring the province of Nueva Vizcaya’s total Covid-19 recorded cases to 186, including six deaths since the outbreak in mid-March of which 145 are active cases. According to the PIHO, of the 145 active cases, 105 were from Solano town, 20 from Bayombong, six from Quezon, five from Bagabag, five from Dupax del Sur and one case each from Bambang, Villaverde, Aritao and Santa Fe. The sudden surge in the number of Covid-19 cases started last week of August with a large portion of infections traced to a health worker joining a group of gym enthusiasts and to a meat inspector, both from Solano town.