President Rodrigo Duterte has lauded the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) for the creation of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Manual for Covid-19 (coronavirus disease) response at the city and municipal levels.
In his message made available to the media here on Friday, Duterte congratulated OPAV for publishing the manual which is “designed to help the local implementers of our Covid-19 response in the Visayas, (and) will truly standardize our procedures in combating this disease.”
EOC was first established in Cebu amid the surge in coronavirus cases last year.
“I am pleased that our local EOCs will serve as the integrated hub for contact tracing, data gathering and analysis, vaccination roll-outs, and the dissemination of best practices among local government units,” the President’s message read.
He also expressed hope that front-liners in the Visayas would “continue to be more responsive to the needs of the general public, especially the sick, as we continue to overcome and defeat this pandemic.”
“Together, let us work hand in hand in implementing and observing health protocols for the safety and well-being of all Filipinos,” Duterte added.
The EOC manual, crafted by Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF)-Visayas chief implementer Melquiades Feliciano and his wife, Mia, helps local government units (LGUs) establish an integrated, centralized, harmonized, synchronized, coordinated, collaborative, and data-driven approach in Covid-19 response.
The manual is specifically designed for LGUs and public health offices from the provincial down to the barangay level.
“Aside from capacitating the LGUs with the knowledge, skills, and abilities, it helps cities and municipalities address challenges by establishing an EOC that is more responsive in the fight against Covid-19,” OPAV said in a statement.
The EOC is one of Cebu’s best practices in Covid-19 response at the community level.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was quoted in the statement as saying: “The Manual will showcase some of the best practices of the LGUs towards establishing an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) which have been the result of the experience of the EOCs in Cebu, Bacolod, and Pagadian”.
The manual had received appreciation messages from officials of the National Task Force Against Covid-19 including its chairperson, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, vice chair Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año, chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., and IATF co-chair Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu.
“Despite these difficulties, it was also a learning point which paved the way to a convergence of all sectors of society. It was fundamental that the public, private, medical, political, and economic sectors would work together and have a unidirectional approach so that solutions would be holistic, harmonized, and efficient,” Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino said.
He thanked Duterte and Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go as well as Feliciano for their consistent support in the rollout of the manual in the entire Visayas and sharing the best practices with LGUs.
“It is important that the operationalization of the EOC reaches the barangay level especially the populous communities. We hope that this EOC Manual will serve as an effective guide to our leaders in setting up their system in managing transmission as we move on and move forward in the new normal,” Dino said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
