The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will reportedly “force” Cebu province governor Gwendolyn Garcia to follow the protocols set by the national Inter Agency Task Force (IATF). This comes as Garcia decided to remove the testing requirement for tourists coming from other places in a bid to revive the ailing tourism industry.
USec. Epimaco Densing III, DILG’s undersecretary for operations, warned Garcia after the latter chided 3 consultant-doctors’ recommendation to put Cebu under a lockdown following the discovery of new virus mutations.
Densing said in an interview with TV5’s One News on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, local chief executives should follow the IATF rules.
Densing reminded Garcia that the country is still under a state of emergency and local government units (LGU) programs on about the pandemic should be aligned with the IATF omnibus guidelines.
In a meeting with tourism stakeholders on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, Garcia said the province has been compliant with IATF guidelines and even furnished the DILG of all the executive orders that she issued.
She insisted that her latest Executive Order no. 12 is aligned with the Omnibus Guidelines on the implementation of community quarantine and other resolutions of the IATF.
She bared that 90% of the residents of Cebu province have been affected economically because of the lockdowns.
Moreover, Garcia added that she will stand by her decision to reopen the province to tourists as a measure to help those already affected economically due to the pandemic.