MAYOR ANG ORDERS
BRGY. LIMOKON ILAUD LOCKDOWN!
[Note: The event that is narrated below is real. However, no actual COVID-19 case actually transpired on June 10, 2020; it was just a simulation. – VNL]
By: Virgilio N. LAGUITAO
Videos by: Jona Karen P. CODILLA & Charlie Dave PINTAL
June 10, 2020 (Wednesday), 8:30 A.M. – LGU-Dimiao Local Chief Executive Randolph L. Ang ordered a lockdown on Barangay Limokon Ilaud, right after Municipal Health Officer Dr. Pedro N. Rosell informed him that a “COVID-19 patient from said barangay had already been transported to Tagbilaran City and admitted at the Gov. Celestine Gallares Memorial Hospital.” Soon after, the Simulation Exercises (SIMEX) on Calibrated Barangay Lockdown and Contact Tracing blossomed into a frenzy of “life-like” scenarios, comprised of, but not limited to, contact-tracing, caution-taping, station set-ups, road blockage, vehicle and personnel disinfection, and food distribution. The police even arrested “fake violators” who went against quarantine and lockdown protocols, and placed them in a holding cell near the Limokon Ilaud-Cambacol border.
At one point, PNP-Dimiao Chief Enel E. Enopia, head of the Border Security Team of said exercise, declared “Area secured!”, after stations were set-up and road blocks were put in place.
Conducted in cooperation with, and under the supervision of the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force-Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (BIATF-PDRRMO), SIMEX is a “what-if-based” drill designed to help people prepare themselves to properly respond and rigidly follow protocols—in case of an actual positive COVID-19 case here in the Province of Bohol.
As per statement of Municipal Engineer and SIMEX Logistics Head, Joel B. Dahiroc, the event pulled in a combined 240-plus participants comprised of Limokon Ilaud barangay officials and residents (under the leadership of its Punong Barangay, Hon. Edgar Idul), municipal employees, department heads, and personnel from national partner agencies like the Philippine National Police (PNP-Dimiao), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP-Dimiao), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG-Dimiao), Philippine Army and CAFGU, health professionals under the Nursing Development Program (NDP), and other volunteers. MLGOO Jose Ruben H. Racho, and PDRRM Officer Anthony R. Damalerio, PhD. provided guidance while observing the proceedings.
A viewing tent set-up nearby housed the other 34 Punong Barangays of the town to witness and take notes, in case an actual COVID-19 outbreak transpires in their very own barangay. Sangguniang Bayan (Dimiao) Members Anecita C. Ucang (Committee Chair on Health and Sanitation), Evelyn B. Gamayon (Committee Chair on Women and Family Welfare), and Arsenio L. Maglente, Jr. (Committee Chair on Public Order and Safety) also witnessed the event.
During the closing ceremonies at 1:30 P.M., Damalerio congratulated Mayor Ang and the whole team for a job well done, although there was still much room left for improvement. Amid constructive comments, he and Engr. Dahiroc noted the lack of supplies and equipment, and the Contact Tracing Team breaking protocol for not wearing face masks and proper footwear as among the event’s deficiencies.
Municipal Assessor Katherine M. Berondo led her Documentation Team to record the whole event in real time.