The fight against the further spread and reduce the tragic effects of the new coronavirus continues.
Every single day, we hope that all of us are trying their best to stay home, stay safe, and flatten the curve.
Of course, words aren’t enough to express how grateful we are to the people fighting in the frontlines. Doctors, nurses, hospital cleaning team, grocery staff, delivery personnel, garbage collectors, and everyone from the government who day in and day out are pouring all efforts to end this crisis.
When it comes to local government units, we’ve heard a lot of praises for Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto.
However, let’s take the spotlight away from the young mayor and take a look at other mayors whose efforts are also commendable and deserve praises at this time of COVID-19 pandemic.
10. Gapan City (Nueva Ecija) Mayor Emerson “Emeng” Pascual
Mayor Emeng Pascual from Gapan City in Nueva Ecija received a lot of praises after he displayed exemplary service to his constituents around the second week of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.
Instead of simply giving out a kilo of rice to residents of the city, the mayor distributed one sack of rice per family. He even personally carried some of these 50kg sacks.
Additionally, he provisioned around 3,000 eggs to be distributed to residents daily.
On a Facebook post, Manolo Chino Trinidad wrote:
Nag door to door daw—-nag-bigay ng isang sako ng bigas, isang buhay na manok at sari-saring gulay sa 34,000 kabahayang sinasakupan niya.
Ang pinambili niya ng pinamigay ay halaga ng sweldo niya na aabutin ng Php4.5M.
At dahil kulang ang sweldo niya ay kumuha pa ng Php18M sa Pascual Family para pandagdag pambili ng bigas sa panahon ng covid19 crisis.
Huwag kang ganyan Mayor Emeng Pascual at masisira ang pamantayan ng karamihan ng mga mayor dito sa Pilipinas.
9. Marikina City Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro
One of the most notable COVID-19 efforts from Mayor Marcy is his push for creating Marikina’s own testing facility for the new coronavirus.
Realizing that the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) is swamped with COVID-19 tests, he is now working on transferring their city testing set-up in a newly-built two-story building in Concepcion Uno.
Initially, the city’s application for the testing center was disapproved by the Department of Health (DOH). DOH’s earlier assessment found that the city’s testing facility “needs further enhancement and adhere with the existing standards for biosafety and biosecurity,” and should be transferred to a separate location.
Once the testing center is approved and begins its operation, the neighboring Pasig City, the Province of Rizal, and other nearby areas could benefit from it. Likewise, the mayor has also stressed the importance of prioritizing the less fortunate members of society to get tested as soon as possible so they could avail treatment if they have contracted COVID-19.
8. Cainta (Rizal) Mayor Johnielle Keith “Kit” Nieto
On top of Mayor Kit’s distribution of vitamins to Cainta’s senior citizens, food stubs for needy constituents, and milk rations for babies, he has won the hearts of many because he takes time in replying to most of the inquiries on his constituents but adding a dash of humor and sarcasm.
Additionally, he has gotten the help of his championship-winning godsons from Ateneo de Manila University – twins Mike and Matt.
Mayor Kit Nieto’s got one of the country’s best young point guards giving an assist ? to Cainta! pic.twitter.com/lCxfvGHPFL
— Normie Riego (@riegogogo) March 24, 2020
7. City of Binan (Laguna) Mayor Arman Dimaguila
Relief efforts on all barangays? Check! There’s even a second wave of relief efforts!
Mayor Arman makes sure that they are one step ahead of the pandemic. They already prepared a dedicated quarantine facility in case there is a surge in COVID-19 patients.
Of course, the city never forgets to give back to people in the frontline.
In this time of COVID-19 crisis when Luzon lockdown is set in place, Mayor Arman religiously goes on-air at 1 PM every day and sees to it that he addresses the concerns of Binan residents.
6. Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas
In our collective fight against COVID-19, Iloilo City is becoming a model city in the middle of this crisis. Headed by Mayor Jerry, he is known for his “all action” approach, putting up over 200 community kitchens, having the first accredited test hub in Region 6, and putting frontliners on top priority.
Mayor Jerry is known for being one of the loudest proponents of mass testing for COVID-19. He firmly believes that it is the only means for the city to get a clear picture of the extent of the virus’s spread in the city.
The mayor collaborated with scientists and medical professionals from the University of the Philippines Visayas alumni community in March to take the huge step of opening a local test hub in Iloilo City at the West Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Mandurriao district. The testing center finally started operating in late March, with DOH officially accrediting WVMC as the first test hub in Region 6.
5. Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte
A good leader is one that can make necessary adjustments for the betterment of the majority.
Mayor Inday Sara was criticized when she allowed taxis and tricycles to operate in her city but to her defense she said, “If the City Government of Davao will not allow taxis and tricycles to move the general public for their basic necessities, we will be caught in an absurd situation where people who own vehicles can easily move around and the general public would resort to walking more than 20 kms just to buy food and other basic necessities.”
Additionally, she was open to suggestions on how 400,000 residents who are going to hospitals, clinics, grocery stores, public markets and other establishments providing basic goods can safely travel.
The City Government of Davao has set up hot meal stations in 98 barangays in the city, serving free lomi and lugaw every 10 a. m. and 5 p. m. daily.
Family planning is also a top priority in Davao City even during ECQ. Mayor Inday Sara has reminded couples — apparently with too much time available for them together at home as Davao City implements community quarantine — not to forget the importance of planned parenthood.
4. Liloan (Cebu) Mayor Christina Frasco
Who said aesthetics and providing help don’t mix?
Apparently, they can. In Liloan, Cebu, Mayor Christina headed the distribution of 5,000 Keep Calm Food Kits to 14 Barangays.
To lighten up the mood, which is something we need even when in crisis, they arranged the food packs to form the Philippine flag.
The relief goods were distributed to drivers of habal-habal, tricycle, trisikad, fishermen, and seniors.
“This week we are distributing another 10,000 Food Kits to various sectors, and will increase distribution capacity every week,” the adorable mayor added.
3. City of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso
When it comes to COVID-19 efforts, Mayor Isko, or Yorme to many, stays on top of things and you can easily learn about what his team has been up to by tuning in on their social media pages.
From disinfecting the city to providing food packs to his constituents, it seems the mayor has done it all.
The latest effort and likely one of the biggest, the mayor and other officials of the city pledged their one-month salary to aid the Philippine General Hospital in the COVID-19 fight.
2. Alaminos City (Pangasinan) Mayor Bryan Celeste
Deemed as the youngest mayor in the Philippines, Mayor Bryan replaced his father, outgoing Alaminos City Mayor Arthur Celeste, in 2019. He was 22 years old when he won.
Almost a year since winning, the young mayor is lauded for his COVID-19 efforts.
He received a lot of compliments for leading the packing and distribution of relief packs to his constituents who are affected by the Luzon-wide lockdown due to COVID-19.
His initiative earned praises. Many are even calling him the beacon of hope among the youth.
1. Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto
When it comes to COVID-19 efforts, Mayor Vico has demonstrated stellar strategies that caught the attention of many. His proactive measures has earned praises from residents of Pasig and beyond.
Some of the notable measures implemented in Pasig include:
Use of technology to fight the new coronavirus. In this case, the use of disinfection drones.
At the start, 400,000 relief packs were immediately distributed with focus on low-income communities.
To be a step ahead in this situation and realizing that hospitals are getting saturated, the city prepared different facilities to serve COVID-19 patients in case there is a surge in number of cases.
To reduce the number of people going to the Pasig Mega Market, the city rolled out the mobile palengke.
The most recent measure is providing free cremation to COVID-related deaths.
Anything to add to this story? Share your thoughts with us.
Do you have a story for the WhenInManila.com Team? Email us at story.wheninmanila@gmail.com or send us a direct message at WhenInManila.com Facebook Page. Interact with the team and join the WhenInManila.com Community at WIM Squad!
