City officials urged operators and drivers of public utility vehicles (PUVs) such as jeepneys, taxis, and other public transportations traversing roads within the boundary of the city to have their vehicles undergo disinfection.
Under Resolution No. 502, series of 2020 signed by Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong, local legislators requested the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) and the City General Services Office (GSO) to provide the needed services and standard disinfectants in the conduct of the said PUV disinfection.
The city stated that properly disinfected PUVs or public transportation would ensure the protection of the commuting public, including the medical frontliners, workers in all types of businesses, companies and industries, employees in government and non-government offices, enterprising individuals and the rest of the constituents that drive the economy of the nation.
Further, the city added that the whole nation in its attempt to reconcile public health, social services and the economy amidst the onslaught of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is slowly opening up businesses keeping the delivery of basic services and having employees go back to work requiring them strict observance to health protocols.
According to the city officials, undeniably, public transport is a vital part of economic activities in transporting commodities and moving workers and employees running the business establishments and industries from home to their places of work and vice versa, thus, such vehicles must be constantly sanitized for the health and safety of the public patronizing the aforesaid types of transportation.
City officials claimed that even though operators and drivers are regularly cleaning and disinfecting their vehicles, it must be assured with the intervention or assistance of concerned city government offices, that the methods and disinfectants they are using or applying are within the standard procedures and the disinfectant or chemicals are sufficient to eliminate the presence of the deadly virus.
The city recognized that the CDRRMO and the GSO are currently responsible and proficient in COVID-19 disinfecting procedures, as well as the fact that the offices are equipped with the necessary chemicals and units of equipment used in such disinfection, thus, the said offices are the most appropriate entities that may be able to deliver the objective of the resolution.
The city disclosed that the proposed disinfection of PUVs shall be done once a week or as may be necessary to ensure that the PUVs adhere to the prescribed health and safety protocols, especially in ensuring that the same had pass through regular disinfection procedures pursuant to guidelines crafted by the health department and approved by the inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases.
Aside from PUVs, disinfection is also applicable to private and public properties as the same is one of the recommended health and safety protocols that must be practiced in both the residences and workplaces to prevent the possible local and community transmission of the virus that could continue to impact on the economy, employment and sources of livelihood of the people in both rural and urban areas in the country.
By Dexter A. See