Several months ago, the province of Laguna has the highest numbers of Covid-19 cases in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) region because the most affected were employees.
Laguna has the most populated industrial zones in Region 4A, with around 2,400 companies, one of the biggest contributors of economic activities in the province.
At this time, Laguna is among areas with the lowest COVID-19 active cases and rising as the Local Government Unit (LGU) with the highest COVID-19 recovery rate at 91%.
By linking gaps among LGUs and state agencies to ensure synchronized COVID-19 responses step of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) tasking Cabinet members to oversee the implementation and compliance of LGUs with the National Action Plan against COVID-19 headed by Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary (PCOO) Martin Andanar, designated as “Big Brother” of the anti-COVID czar for Laguna.
Andanar aims to present and bring closer to the people the programs and services of the national government amid the pandemic, and provide an avenue for stakeholders to acquire and share updates on the COVID-19 situation of the locality.
“Importante talaga na ‘yung mga leaders, mga mayors natin ay binibigyan natin sila ng motivation na nakikita nila na ang effort nila hindi lang nakikita ng kanilang mga nasasakupan, nakikita din ng national government.” he said, noting that the LGUs are the frontliners in the fight against the pandemic.
On the other hand, Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez attributed the intensified partnership and coordination as key factors in containing the infection and the high recovery rate of patients.
He emphasized that the partnership with local government units (LGUs) and private stakeholders remains a priority in implementing response efforts against adverse impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and other disasters coming in the country.
“Maganda talaga yan. Ang ginawa ng national government bumaba sila at hindi lang basta bumaba, sila’y naging hands-on sa local government,” he said.
The Department of Health (DOH) Director Beverly Ho, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Director Irene Dumlao, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Sarah Arriola, Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Roldan Gorgonio, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ruth Castelo, Small Business Corporation (SBCorp Strategy for Policy and Systems Sector Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Josefina Flores, and the Regional Task Force Against COVID-19 included during the conference.
Some companies hit by COVID-19 became model companies in implementing the health and safety protocols.