“Very inspiring” was how the chief implementor of the national government´s Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) described Cagayan de Oro City Hall´s management of its active COVID-19 cases Wednesday morning (Aug. 19).

“Ako po nagagalak (Cagayan de Oro City) Mayor (Oscar) Moreno dahil nakikita namin na tinutulungan ninyo ang Iligan City. Yan po talaga ang gusto namin na magkaroon ng inspiration, ng bayanihan kasi dapat lang tayo magtulungan, na kung may kailangan ang kapitbahay ay dapat tulungan natin (I am glad Mayor Moreno because we saw that you are helping Iligan City. That´s what we want to see, the inspiration, the bayanihan spirit because we should help each other. If a neighbor is in need, we help them),” IATF chief implementor Carlito Galvez Jr said during Wednesday morning´s (Aug. 19) press briefing.

Galvez referred to Mayor Moreno´s standing offer to help Iligan City house its arrivals, an offer Mayor Moreno also extended to the city´s neighboring local governments in Misamis Oriental. Galvez noted how well City Hall handled its COVID-19 cases including its returning Kagay-anons whom he said constitute majority of the positive cases in the city.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) chief Martin Andanar gave recognition to City Hall´s preemptive COVID-19 response measures such as the Regulatory Compliance Board (RCB´s) move to prevent overcrowding inside a sports apparel store inside a mall last Saturday.

Andanar also welcomed the 19th City Council´s passage of an anti-discrimination ordinance in light of the ongoing discrimination against recovered patients. In response, Mayor Moreno also lauded the IATF for providing the guidelines to local governments like Cagayan de Oro City in implementing their respective quarantines.

Mayor Moreno also explained why he made the offer to house Iligan City´s arrivals despite the concerns raised by some quarters. ´I was worried over the spike in local COVID-19 cases there. Like I keep saying, all of us in northern Mindanao are in the same boat together. What affects your neighbor affects us all,´ Mayor Moreno said.

Mayor Moreno also explained his administration´s decision to accept returning Kagay-anons back to the city rather than ask for a moratorium on arrivals, saying he doesn´t want to unduly burden the National Capital Region (NCR), which contributes two thirds of the nation´s economy.