Pampanga Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda has asked the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) to declare a “state of calamity” in the province amid the ongoing threat of the deadly coronavirus or COVID-19.
Speaking to reporters, Delta said “We are asking the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to declare a state of calamity for the province of Pampanga.”
Under a state of calamity “We can (properly) use our budget and we can do more policies that can be implemented in the province para sa ikabubuti ng mga Kapampangans.”
Delta had earlier met with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management as the province coordinate all efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus which already claimed the life of one patient in the City of San Fernando on March 11.
Earlier, Floridablanca town had also put two remote mountain villages – Barangays Nabuclod and Mawacat – under a 10-day quarantine after a resident turned positive of COVID-19.
In nearby Porac town, local officials had also declared a state of calamity after a Grab driver working in the Clark Freeport Zone contracted the disease. He is now being treated at a hospital in Manila.
Both Governor Pineda and Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. had been exerting efforts to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 in Pampanga province. Both leaders have been preventing the entry of passengers of domestic and international flights at Clark International Airport to Angeles City and Pampanga.
“We have to minimize movement to control the coronavirus disease,” said Lazatin.