The Northern Mindanao Task Force for COVID-19 proposed a suspension of loan amortizations, rentals, and telecommunication and utility billings because of stricter quarantine measures imposed in the city.

Mayor Oscar Moreno endorsed the proposed moratorium to the city council for discussions, said Councilor George Goking on Monday, June 21.

The proposal was made through a resolution signed by Gilbert Conde and Arnel Agabe, chair and co-chair, respectively, of the COVID-19 regional task force. Conde is officer in charge of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) while Agabe is director of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Northern Mindanao.

Goking, who chairs the city council’s trade and commerce committee, said councilors have scheduled a series of meetings this week to see if the local legislature could pass a city ordinance to make the proposed moratorium mandatory.

A moratorium, he said, could cushion the impact of the monthlong modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) on business establishments and workers that have been suffering from income losses as a result of the stricter quarantine classification of the city since June 1.

Goking estimated that Cagayan de Oro’s business losses could reach as much as P5 billion this month alone due to the MECQ measures which restricted activities that were seen as “nonessential,” and prohibited more establishments from operating at full capacity.

President Rodrigo Duterte first placed Cagayan de Oro under MECQ – the second strictest classification in the government’s quarantine measures – from June 1 to June 15 due to a sudden surge in new COVID-19 cases in the city that started in May. He subsequently extended the MECQ to June 30 in the hope of curbing COVID-19 cases through regulated movements.

The Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Oro Chamber) said it “welcomes with great anticipation” an official announcement of a moratorium.

“Of course, we should have wished an amnesty on business taxes to be granted by the city if it so desires to be more business-friendly,” said Oro Chamber president Ruben Vegafria.

Goking said his committee was seeking the position of those who might be affected by a moratorium, especially the banks, to see if the task force’s proposal can be done.

Mayor Moreno, for his part, said the proposed moratorium was a matter that the City Council would need to thoroughly discuss.

“We need to listen to all sides. Let’s see how it goes,” Moreno told Rappler.

He added: “Let’s focus on the real problem that brought us to the MECQ level. Quick success in addressing the root cause also solves the consequential effects in an effective way.”

Moreno enumerated city hall’s strategies to cushion the impact of the surge in COVID-19 cases in the city:

• suppress or at least slow down the virus transmission, both in and out of Cagayan de Oro
• strengthen the city’s hospital care utilization rate, average daily attack rate, and the two-week growth rate
• further streamline temporary treatment and monitoring facilities, isolation units, and extraction operations
• strengthen teamwork and coordination of experts
• further improve and accelerate the vaccination rollout program
• pursue information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns
• further strengthen collaboration with national agencies, barangay officials, and civic organizations

Moreno said, “There are programs of the national government that we are tapping. We’ll just have to keep on pushing. We also have our locally-funded assistance programs, and these are being done, but with our limited resources, we need to be circumspect.” – Rappler.com