North Cotabato Governor Nancy Catamco. (Photo by North Cotabato PIO)
COTABATO CITY – North Cotabato Governor Nancy Catamco has warned village officials against ignoring the provincial government’s programs and directives on ensuring the safety of its residents from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), lest they face administrative charges.
Catamco earlier ordered the activation of the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT) in North Cotabato’s 543 villages. The province has 17 towns and one city.
“We need to work together to ensure the 1,279,747 population of North Cotabato are safe from Covid-19,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
Catamco noted that village officials are the front-liners in determining whether or not they have constituents who recently traveled abroad where Covid-19 was reported or are suffering from Covid-19 symptoms, such as fever, flu, and cough.
She called on barangay officials to immediately report to the provincial inter-agency task force on Covid-19 if their constituents have symptoms so appropriate measures could be done.
“We need your cooperation and support. Let us set aside politics and personal issues. Let us focus on how to prevent the spread of the disease in our area,” Catamco said.
Meanwhile, she expressed her gratitude for the "sacrifices" of the province's health front-liners helping contain the coronavirus.
“My snappy salute for our health workers, nurses, doctors, police, and soldiers, and all front-liners for keeping all Cotabateños safe from Covid-19,” Catamco said.
She added that the province now has 50 personal protective gears that are being used by health front-liners.
As of Thursday, North Cotabato remains free from Covid-19. (PNA)
