Antique is prepared to fight COVID-19 – Legarda

Deputy Speaker and Antique Lone District Representative Loren Legarda expressed that Antique is prepared to fight and address the social and economic impact of Covid-19. As of March 31, Antique remains Covid-19 free.

In order to address the social and economic impact of Covid-19, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) emphasizes the importance of implementing a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to protect the health and wellbeing of Filipinos through a three-phased program of interventions. These phases are (1) Phase 1, which composes of Phase 1a (Clinical/Medical Health Response), Phase 1b (Public Health Response), and Phase 1c (Short-term Augmentation of Health Systems Capacity); Phase 2 (Rebuild Consumer and Business Confidence; and Phase 3 (Resume a New Normal State of Economic Activity that is More Prepared for the Next Possible Pandemic).

Legarda stressed that Antique, with an estimated population of 582,012,  has been implementing mitigating measures in coordination with relevant agencies to help curb the spread of the COVID-19.

Referencing the Phase 1a (Clinical/Medical Health Response) with effective quarantine and effective management and treatment and Phase 1b (Public Health Response), Legarda provided test kits, personal protective equipments (PPEs), masks, thermal scanners, vitamins, as well as financial support to safeguard her kasimanwa against COVID-19.

As early as March 17, 2020, Antique implemented border restrictions and enhanced community quarantine to protect Antiquenos from getting COVID-19. Along with the deployment of the frontliners in the province, Legarda provided gallons of alcohol pump bottles to the Municipal Health Offices and Chiefs of Police, for disinfection and prevention of virus spread.

As support for the frontliners, Deputy Speaker Legarda provides nutritious lunch at the main border checkpoints in Antique, which will continue until it is needed. The Deputy Speaker also provided food provisions to frontliners on duty 24/7 in hospitals and municipal police stations in Antique as gratitude for their tireless work in battling Covid-19.

Deputy Speaker Legarda also coordinated with relevant agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in order to continuously provide assistance to Antiqueños in time of Covid-19 crisis.

DSWD AICS distribution will be available to Antiquenos starting March 31 and will continue until the second week of April, providing financial assistance of Php3,000.00 to each marginalized and vulnerable/disadvantaged household. LGUs are urged to submit the list of households affected by COVID-19.

Meanwhile, TUPAD will be provided by DOLE for the households with PUIs and PUMs with tasks that include disinfection/sanitation of houses and vegetable gardening. Target beneficiaries will also include displaced workers, family members of frontliners, jeepney and tricycle drivers, and vendors. Each beneficiary will receive Php3,950 as salary for 10 days.

Additionally, Medical Assistance for Indigent Patients (MAIP) can still be availed of, especially during these extraordinary times.

“In this time of crisis, we will continue to provide assistance to every kasimanwa, especially the poor and marginalized communities who will be needing the much needed help,” Legarda stated.

As response to the early detection and tracing, the Provincial Health Office of Antique provides daily monitoring of PUMs and PUIs. Schools are also being used as temporary shelter for those Antiqueños stranded in the border of Aklan (Nabas) – Antique (Pandan) due to the province-wide community quarantine. Legarda has also provided for their basic essentials, such as blankets, dippers and face towels.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), on the other hand, installed decontamination/sanitation tents at the provincial borders of Antique-Aklan and Antique-Iloilo to secure the entry of cargo vehicles by sanitizing them. Portalets have also been installed together with a handwashing facility.

PPEs and medical supplies also arrived in Antique as Legarda’s personal donations to the hospitals and Municipal Health Offices in Antique, to protect the frontliners as they fight Covid-19.

“With these efforts and coordination with the government agencies and the cooperation of our kasimanwa in staying at home and abiding by the instructions of the government, I am hopeful that Antique will remain Covid-19 free,” Legarda concluded.

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