DAVAO DEL NORTE, MAY 5 (PIA) - The lone area of Davao del Norte province still under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), Tagum City has been making itself ready to handle cases of COVID-19, to provide relief assistance, and even to spur back the city's economic activities.

Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon has been sharing this optimism during his guesting in the Kapihan sa DavNor and in One Davao Presser of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) XI, despite the bleak economic horizon that COVID-19 is painting.

During his guesting, he featured Tagum's facility to handle light suspect cases of persons under investigation (PUI), the ready supply of food set to reach third distribution round, and the plans to revive the city's economy.

Due for formal opening this afternoon (May 5) is the PUI isolation facility which forms part of Tagum City's Disaster Risk Reduction Command Center compound.

In an offsite Kapihan sa Davnor interview, Rellon estimated the cost of the PUI isolation facility to run about P60 million to cover renovation and set up of 25 tiled-floor isolation rooms, each with built-in comfort room and airconditioning unit.

The city government has also equipped the city's PUI isolation facility with sets of personal protective equipment (PPEs), X-ray machine.

"Nindot jud siya. Naay front desk didto. (It's a nice place; it also has frontdesk)," he told PIA XI as he made a mental picture of the facility which is made complete with support funds from the Heal as One Bayanihan Grant that the national government has poured to LGUs.

Giving credits to fellow local officials, Rellon revealed having conceptualized the facility when Tagum still had logged two positive cases of COVID-19 in preparation for worst case scenario of having more cases cropping up that could no longer be accommodated at the Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC).

Once the city would ride out of COVID-19 crisis, the facility would still be of relevance as a training and crisis operation center, he said.

Meanwhile, the city government had already rolled out two rounds of food distribution while preparing for the third trance, prioritizing those who are non-recipients of cash aid from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

"We have three rounds of food relief services. For us maka-survive ang katawhan kung magpabiling naka lockdown ang city (our constituents can still survive even if the city remains in lockdown)," he told PIA XI during the One Davao Presser.

With supplies of food beefed by the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte, the city government is due to haul the third round of food pack distribution, benefitting a total of 102,778 Tagumenyo families including those stranded and those living in boarding houses.

"About sa ayuda, ipadayun nato nga maghatag ug (About assistance, we are set to continue giving) relief goods for Tagum City," Davao del Norte Provincial Governor Edwin Jubahib said in a special edition of Kapihan sa DavNor.

Jubahib is due to haul this week such assistance to Tagum City which he has declared under ECQ "lockdown" while the rest of the local government units (LGUs) in the province are on General Community Quarantine (GCQ).

Meanwhile, Rellon shared his pro-active endeavors designed with heads of city government offices, to jump-start the city's economy after ECQ.

He revealed having discussed with his department heads to already hatch plans for development projects to kick-in even during ECQ period, and would serve as livelihood spur factors when the city transitions to GCQ.

For the moment, he said the "gulayan" program is already gaining ground among Tagum communities which have sustained vegetable growing projects even during ECQ period with seeds and fertile soil provided by the City Agriculture Office.

He revealed of having reserved funds for cash-for-work projects benefitting those who had lost jobs and livelihood due to COVID-19 crisis.

He also looked at the potential of generating jobs in the infrastructure sector once the city's economy would be opened and be freed of ECQ restrictions.

"It is easy now to plan because we already have data of the sector identified as really needing help," he told PIA XI during One Davao Presser. "We also have ready proposals," he said looking at the prospect of asking assistance from national line agencies aside from strategizing the use of whatever is left of the city's social development fund. (PIA XI/Jeanevive Duron Abangan)