VALENZUELA — City Mayor Rex Gatchalian says the city will tighten its regulations on factories following the change of status of their city from enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to modified community quarantine (MCQ) on May 16. Under the MCQ, certain types of industries are allowed to operate but in strict compliance with the safety standards and guidelies set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the Department of Health (DOH)
The mayor made this statement during a radio-TV interview on Thursday, a day before deadline of the ECQ status of the city. He said he was among the city mayors in Metro Manila who recommended the extension of the ECQ for another 15 days because he was afraid of a second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak like what happened in Singapore.
“Nangamba din ako. Mas fluid itong Covid eh, pabagobago, pati ang mga scientists at mga doktor ay nagugulat eh, but ako, I’m a good soldier. Kami sa Valenzuela ay susunod sa patakaran ng pamahalaang nasyunal,” Mayor Gatchalian said.
He subscribed to the idea that science must be the main determinant of the decision of lifting the ECQ that is why he opted for a gradual lifting in the whole of Metro Manila for another two weeks. “Makita natin na parang isang organismo ang Metro Manila. May mga tao na nakatira sa ibang lugar sa Metro Manila ngunit sa Valenzuela nagtatrabaho. Take note, almost all of the goods in Metro Manila comes from Valenzuela. Baka mahawaan ang mga truck drivers namin na galing sa ibang cities,” he further said.
Mayor Gatchalian said Valenzuela has more than 4,000 factories and that he doesn’t want that the surge of new infections will come from them so the city has devised some guidelines for businesses starting May 16. Among the items in the new guidelines is the submission of new normal management plan for those factories with above 10 workers. The city will give them at least five days to submit the plan to the city for auditing and actual inspection.
The other is that businesses will undergo risk assessment if they are automated, semi-automated or manual and to determine the risk factor and ways to avoid it. The other one is to check the worker’s quarters if they are complying with the 50 percent requirement of workforce and other IATF and DOH safety guidelines.
“We are also trying to follow the three-meter rule, wherein one worker must have at least this space to work do regulate the actual number of workers allowed in the factory,” Mayor Gatchalian said in closing.
