An alumnus of the University of the Philippines has a suggestion of ever that Capas, Tarlac LGU decide not to cooperate with the government over their plan to set a quarantine site in New Clark City.

On a Tweet, netizen Benedict Exconde @iskonglasalista suggested that the government should do an extreme measure to force the Capas LGU to follow the plan of the national government by declaring martial law in the area.

“If the LGU of Capas, Tarlac will not cooperate and follow the orders of the national leadership, put the entire town under martial law and suspend all of its officials, from the mayor down to the barangay councilors,” said Exconde.

If the LGU of Capas, Tarlac will not cooperate and follow the orders of the national leadership, put the entire town under martial law and suspend all of its officials, from the mayor down to the barangay councilors. https://t.co/uy5l1QMv1X

— Benedict Exconde (@iskonglasalista) February 8, 2020

Some netizens from Capas couldn’t stop themselves from criticizing Exconde’s comment.

“Anu pati admin namin tinatakot na..wala pa ang virus. Tapos kami sasabihan nyu makikitid utak. Tao lang din kami may mga pamilya at kamag anak. Wala kami paki sa duterte o dilawan we care more for out health safety. Face mask nga di mapamigay ng libre e,” a businessman from Capas said.

“Ang konti lng ng dadating bkit hindi na lng sa hospital pra matapos na ito. Cla nman ang ngsasabi na PUI lng nman ang mga ito. Available po ang San Lazaro hospital. Well trained and less effort pa dhil complete na gamit dun,” netizen Analie Loto commented.

“Wag niyo daanin sa tapang at posisyon niyo oo nandun nkami sa point na gusto niyo maagapan at malunasan Ang sakit Ng mga infected at Hindi na kumalat pa pero naisip niyo din ba Ang mga Lugar na pagdadalhan niyo na madami tao ang puedi mahawa at maapektuhan tangi saloobin niyo Lang kasi Ang iniisip niyo paano nmn Ang mga pamilya namin puedi mahawa bakit Hindi niyo subukan sa mismo lugar nyo dalhin Ang mga infected Kung mananatili kau kalmado at Hindi aalma tungkol dto na maari din mahawa pamilya niyo oo nakakaawa sila pero syempre inaalala lng namin Ang mga pamilya at kaligtasan namin Sana wag niyo masamain Ang mga reaction namin kayo lumugar sa katayuan namin,” Ghinrhay Pangilinan remarked.

Fortunately, imposing martial law is already unnecessary as the LGU of Capas already decided to support the plan of the government.

Vice President Leni Robredo made a comment about the reaction of the people of Capas, Tarlac after they were informed about the last-minute decision of the national government to bring the repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from China to New Clark City.

Residents and even the local government unit (LGU) of Capas previously opposed the idea of the government, citing concerns that they might get infected as the Athlete’s Village in NCC is only kilometers away to the nearest community in the said municipality.

According to Robredo, the reason why the people of Capas opposed the government is because of the lack of consultation.

She compared the reaction of the Capas residents to the response of the people of Marawi City when the government announced that they’re going to rehabilitate the war-torn city.

It can be remembered that Marawi residents also claimed that they were not consulted by the government about their plan.

“Iyon din iyong tingin ko na parati tayong nagkukulang. Kahit sa Marawi, ganoon din, eh. Na sana kahit anong gagawin sa lugar mo, kailangan ikaw iyong unang kokonsultahin kasi ikaw iyong may responsibility na mag-explain sa mga tao, ikaw iyong may responsibility na siguruhin na safe iyong lugar,” Robredo said.

Robredo urged the government not to do the same mistake again.

“Talagang iyon iyong pakiusap natin sa national government agencies na bago magdedesisyon na mai-involve iyong LGU, parating kokonsultahin muna iyong LGU officials,” she said.

At first, Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan and other officials of Capas opposed the idea, but after a meeting with the officials from the national government, the LGU finally decided to allow the OFWs to stay in NCC for 14 days.

However, they set a condition that the batch sent by the government should be the first and last, and the national government should allow a representative from Capas LGU to supervise the quarantine period.

A lawyer writes an open letter to the people of Capas, Tarlac, who are reportedly opposed to the idea of the government of making the Athlete’s Village in New Clark City as a quarantine area for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) coming from Wuhan, China.

On a Facebook post, Attorney Bruce V. Rivera doubts the claims of Capas that they were not informed about the plan of the government to bring the OFWs to the New Clark City.

Rivera also asked why the people of Capas are refusing to accept the OFWs despite benefiting to the infrastructure built by the national government for them.

He pointed out that the people of Manila have more risk of getting infected by the 2019 novel coronavirus as the San Lazaro Hospital and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, where the confirmed cases of nCoV are being treated are located in the National Capital Region.

Rivera was also saddened by the unwelcoming attitude of some people who don’t want to accept the OFWs, calling them selfish and narrow-minded.

Here’s what the letter reads:

“Dear People of Capas, Tarlac,

Sabi ninyo, hindi kayo nainform at kinunsulta sa quarantine ng mga Pinoy OFW na galing sa Wuhan na parang natraydor kayo.

Anong bansa ba kayo kasapi? Makikinabang kayo sa income ng NCC at nakinabang sa SEA Games pero ngayon, ayaw niyo tanggapin ang kababayan natin. Kung ganyan ang iniisip niyo, sana hindi din kayo pumayag nung ginawa diyan ang NCC.

Kami dito sa Metro Manila, andito ang RITM at San Lazaro kung saan may NCoV patients pero wala kayong nakikitang nagrarally na paalisin ang mga pasyente. Kasi, hindi naman natin dapat isipin ang sarili natin lang sa panahon ng krisis. Lalo na kung kapwa nating Pinoy na OFW na bayani ang turing natin sa kanila. Tsaka, ang dinadala po diyan, WALANG mga sakit. Ang may ubo at lagnat ay sa hospital dinadala. Quarantine lang para preventative.

Para sa akin, obligasyon ng Mayor at council ang huwag i-encourage ang mga maling inpormasyon na naging dahilan bakit praning ang mga constituents nila. Pero sila pa itong pasimuno ng panic.

Nakakahiya maging Pilipino sa mga panahong ito kahit na andami nating kababayan na iniisip ang kapakanan ng karamihan. Kasi may mga Pinoy na makasarili, madamot at makitid ang pag-iisip. Kasi kung ganyan kayo mag-isip, paghati-hatiin na lang ang Pilipinas kasi masakit makarinig ng mga salitang, “dapat bumalik sila sa kanilang pinangalingan” mula sa mga galit na residente ng Capas patungkol sa isang Pinoy na OFW.

Kasi hindi ba parte ng Pilipinas ang Capas, Tarlac. Saang pinangalingan nila gustong bumalik yung kababayan natin?

Nakakahiya talaga. Kasi normal ang mangamba at matakot. Pero hindi makatao ang pagiging madamot.

At nagsisimba kayo sa lagay na yan.”

On another post, Rivera also said that Mayors should not succumb to ‘irrational fear’ because it might also affect his people.

Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan of Capas, Tarlac at first opposed the plan of the government, expressing concern that his people might get infected by the non-airborne virus.

However, after meeting with some officials, the LGU of Capas and Catacutan urged his people to support the plan of the government and welcome the repatriated OFWs.

Source: [1]

The Mayor of Capas, Tarlac who previously opposed the plan of the government to place the repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from China in the New Clark City, has already made a move to calm its people amid the fear of getting infected by 2019-novel coronavirus.

On a Facebook post, Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan Sunday urged his people to “throw its all-out-support” to the plan of the government and stop posting hate messages on social media.

“Now that the national government has finally decided to use the Athletes village in Capas as the quarantine area for our returning kababayans, Capas can only move forward and throw its all-out-support to this nationally-led endeavor.” Catacutan said.

“After all, the essence of democracy was in the air the days prior to the repatriation, Capaseños spoke and made an honest stand through the Sangguniang Bayan. Things all said and done, Capaseños are called to heed the call of the bigger picture. Moving forward carries with it the stop of all hate-related posts in Social Media as I urge fellow Capaseños and others to refrain from such.” he added.

According to him, they were assured by the national government that there’s nothing wrong going to happen during the 14-day quarantine period of the OFWs from China.

“Sama-sama po nating susuungin ang mga alinlangang bunsod ng NCoV at kapit-bisig nating ipamalas ang ating pakikiisa sa kabila ng mga pangamba na unti-unting napawi ng kasiguraduhan mula sa pambansang pamahalaan na sapat ang proseso patungkol sa pag-iwas sa pagkalat ng sakit.” 

“Let us join hands in supporting the whole-of-government approach of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in his fight against NCoV.”

On his previous Facebook post, Mayor Catacutan said that his previous statement against the plan of the government is not his “final decision” over the matter, and only expressing his concern as he’s currently in Germany and far from his municipality.

“This was not a FINAL STAND. I repeat, THIS WAS NOT A FINAL STAND but an initial reaction from a father who was protecting his family. Bilang ama ng Capas na malayo sa kanila, I initially reacted dahil nag cause po ng panic ang biglaang balita na sa New Clark City dadalhin ang mga repatriated Filipinos na under monitoring. We were blindsided. And we owed it to our people na mag explain sa kanila pero wala kaming full information the very moment na lumabas po ito sa national news,” he said.

He also explained the reason why the LGU of Capas and its people are afraid at first to the plan of the government, like its possible effect to the tourism of New Clark City.

“Nagkaroon po ng spread of fear at fake news. Una dahil hindi po kami nainform, at hindi namin nai-relay sa mga tao.”

“Pangalawa, nagtaka ang mga tao kung bakit sa NCC, na pawang sports facilities ang mga pangunahing imprastruktura.. Bakit dito dadalhin ang mga kababayan, angkop ba ang NCC para doon? Matutulungan nga ba sila?”

“Ano ang magiging implication nito sa image ng Capas at ng New Clark City gayong may mga upcoming events sana dito. Ano kaya ang magiging future ng NCC kung magiging quarantine zone ito at biglang may magpositive. Ang NCC na ginastusan po ng napakalaki ng national government at ipinagmalaki natin bilang world-class facility. Baka masayang at magkaroon ng stigma o irreversible negative image bilang quarantine zone.”

He also defended the reaction of the people of Capas, saying that they’re not being selfish but only expressing uncertainty because they’re not informed about the plan.

“Ang reaksyon po ng mga tao sa Capas ay hindi po akto ng pagiging maramot kundi pruweba na ganito ang nangyayari kapag hindi naiintindihan ng mga tao ang sitwasyon, prublema at solusyon. Sila ay nagpapanic, natatakot, nagagalit at umaalma.”

“Ang mga tao sa Capas po ay nakaranas na ng napakaraming trahedya pero hindi po sila nakakalimot tumulong din sa iba sa napakaraming pagkakataon.”

Catacutan also reminded the government that despite having no jurisdiction in New Clark City, the people of Capas still have the right to get informed about the said plan of the government.

“Kami po ay mga lokal lamang. Ang mga taong nakapaligid po sa NCC ay mga lokal. Minsan nakakalimot man po tayo na iinvolve ang mga community bago po tayo mag implement ng mga proyekto, program o measures pero ang mga maliliit na taong ito ay parte po ng komunidad,”

“Karapatan po nilang malaman ang mga bagay na ganito lalo na it is a health concern at globally pinag uusapan po ito. Hindi po liability ang community kung sila ay well-infomed, mas makakatulong po sila kung aware sila,”

He then wished for a permanent solution to the 2019-nCoV.

A few days ago, the LGU of Capas opposed the plan of the government to make the Athlete’s Village in New Clark City as a quarantine zone, citing health concerns.

Yesterday, after a meeting with the officials from the national government, the Capas LGU finally decide to let the OFWs use the Athlete’s Village as a temporary home of the OFWs.

However, they said that they’re only going accept one batch of OFWs.

The local government unit (LGU) of Capas, Tarlac finally agreed to the plan of the government to make the Athlete’s Village in the New Clark City as the quarantine area for the repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Wuhan, China.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Vice Mayor Roseller Rodriguez of Capas, Tarlac said that they already met with the officials of the Department of Health (DOH) and they talked about the concerns of the residents near the New Clark City.

According to him, they were assured by the DOH that the people around the area will be safe because the New Clark City is going to be lockdown.

Before agreeing to the national government’s plan, Capas LGU also set some conditions to assure the safety of its residents from the possible spread of 2019 novel coronavirus in their municipality.

“The first condition is, they will only be the batch, we will no longer accommodate another batch (of OFWs) the second condition is to make sure that the duration of the quarantine will be only 14 days, and number three is there will be a representative from the LGU inside the athlete’s village to ensure that they’re complying with the protocol,” said Rodriguez.

They also requested a medical clinic in the middle of the athlete’s village and the nearest community in the athlete’s village to show to the people that they should not be afraid of getting infected.

Capas, Tarlac Vice Mayor Roseller Rodriguez speaks to CNN Philippines about the return of several OFWs from Wuhan, China who are to be quarantined at The Athletes' Village in New Clark City amid the novel coronavirus outbreak #CNNPHNewsroomWeekend https://t.co/msCLmwV0u6 pic.twitter.com/9qPosT9TCm

— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) February 8, 2020

Rodriguez pointed out that the number one concern of the people in Capas is the possible leak of 2019-nCoV to their community.

“Probably due to lack of information and dissemination, it’s a common fear that they might get infected, they think that its airborne and they’re very near the athlete’s village the fear of getting infected is always present,” he said.

Yesterday, a group of Capas residents organized a rally to express their opposition over the plan of the national government.

A doctor criticized the people of Capas, Tarlac, for opposing the plan of the government to put the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from China in Athlete’s Village in New Clark City.

On a Facebook post, Dr. Ethel Pineda couldn’t hide her disappointment to the people of Tarlac and tried to lecture them about the 2019 novel coronavirus.

She answered the complaint of the residents one by one, like their fear of getting infected despite being far from the Athlete’s Village, the lifespan of the virus, the rights of the government to use the facilities in New Clark City and the effects of the quarantine site to the businesses around the municipality.

You can read her post below:

“Unang-una, educate yourselves. Hindi lilipad sa hangin na hinihinga niyo ang virus mula sa Athlete’s Village.”

“Droplet infection po ito. Ang virus, kung mayroon man ay hanggang 6 feet lamang kung uubo o babahing ang may sakit na wala siyang mask. Sila ay babantayan para hindi makalabas. 14 days lang ang tatagal ng paglagi nila at lalabas na kung walang simptomas.”

“Pangalawa, anong stigma ang pinagsasasabi niyo? Namamatay ang virus pagka nag-disinfect. At sa ilang araw lamang ay namamatay rin itong kusa sa mga surfaces. Mga ignorante rin ang matatakot sa ganyan. Kailangan din nila ng edukasyon.”

“Pangatlo, anong investments ang pinagsasabi niyo? Uunahin niyo pa ang mga pantasya niyo sa pera kaysa tumulong sa isang health emergency?”

“Ang estado ay may karapatang gamitin ang anumang facility niya sa isang nationwide emergency. Di na kailangan ang pahintulot niyo.”

She even compared the residents of Capas to former President Noynoy Aquino III who’s also a Tarlaqueño

“Di ko mawari kung anong uri ng mga Pilipino kayo. Para kayong si Noynoy na taga Tarlac din. Walang alam at walang paki-alam.”

The doctor also told the people of Tarlac that if they also believe that the OFWs are the modern heroes of the country, they should welcome them to their province.

“Panay ang sabi niyo na ang mga OFW ang mga bagong bayani. Pero diring-diri kayo at ayaw niyo ipa-quarantine sa probinsya niyo. Wag maging mangmang at sakim,” she said.

A few days ago, the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Capas, Tarlac opposed the plan of the government to use New Clark City as the quarantine area for OFWs.

On Saturday, residents of Capas held a rally against the plan of the government and even made a tarpaulin to show that the OFWs are not welcome to their municipality.

However, after a meeting with DOH, Capas LGU already agreed with the plan as long as they’re going to fulfill the conditions they gave.

Source [1]