DILG Urges All Barangays to Organize Barangay Disiplina Brigades

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is urging all barangays to set up their Barangay Disiplina Brigades to drive the core message of BIDA ang May Disiplina: Solusyon sa COVID 19 which is individual responsibility and discipline will stop the spread of COVID-19.

DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said that the formation of the Disiplina Brigades on the ground level promotes the spirit of volunteerism and ensures that minimum health standards are implemented by the community themselves.

“The role of each Brigade is to police their own respective communities, remind their neighbors of the need to follow the BIDA Solusyon protocols of DOH, provide factual information and communicate the message of Bayanihan to defeat the pandemic,” he said.

“Ang solusyon sa COVID-19 ay nasa ating mga kamay. That’s the core message that should be communicated by the brigades. We are at war against COVID-19 and we must fight the enemy at the Barangay level,” he said.

He also said that the brigades are volunteers and will be under the supervision of the Barangay chairman. They will receive no compensation for their public service. The brigades together with the Barangay Tanods should be going around the community and calling the attention of quarantine violators.

Malaya also urged private companies and businesses that conducted COVID-19 testing for their employees to report the results, especially positive cases, to the local government units (LGUs) for proper assistance and monitoring.

“Nanawagan po kami sa mga nagmamay-ari ng mga kompanya, mga plant manager, supervisors, at iba pa, be responsible, kung nagkaroon po kayo ng testing sa inyong lugar at may lumabas na positive, ireport ninyo sa LGUs,” he said in the launch of the ‘BIDA ang may Disiplina’ national advocacy campaign in Marikina City.

Malaya explained that the common practice among companies following COVID-19 testings to its employees is to report the results to their head offices instead of alerting the LGUs where the employees reside.

“Kung hindi alam ng mayor na mayroon pa lang ganoon insidente [positive cases], papaano po natin makokontrol ang pagkalat ng COVID-19 sa ating bansa at mga komunidad, how to we do contact tracing, isolation?,” he said.

He said that upon conducting COVID-19 tests, it is the incumbent responsibility of the companies to report to the LGUs its result so that proper protocols set by health authorities can be followed such as contact tracing and isolation.

Companies with large workforces were also reminded to automatically notify the various LGUs of residence of the employees who have tested positive for COVID-19. “Kung ang inyo pong kompanya ay napakalaki, na marami at iba’t ibang LGU ang inuuwian ng inyong mga empleyado, ipaalam niyo po sa provincial government sa pamamagitan ng provincial health office na siya namang mag-iinform sa mga LGU.”

DILG is currently working with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Malaya said, towards improving health protocols implemented in all private companies in dealing with COVID-19 such as requiring companies to have their own quarantine facilities.

“Since wala silang [private companies, businesses] quarantine isolation area, ang nangyayari kasi is positibo ka, umuwi ka muna sa bahay. Hindi po puwede yung ganoon. Dapat, positibo ka, quarantine ka muna dito until makapaghanda yung barangay ng isolation facility o yung bahay mo ay may sariling kuwarto at CR,” the DILG Spokesperson pointed out.

According to Malaya, data show that most COVID-19 cases in the provinces were acquired in the workplace and they were taken by the employees to their families and communities leading to further contagion in the barangay. “Ang nangyari is nagkahawahan doon sa factory na iyon at naiuwi sa iba’t ibang mga Barangay.”

He also said that with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country and with the possibility of relaxing quarantine status anew to general community quarantine (GCQ), allowing the operation of most public transportation modes, the public must cooperate by wearing face masks with face shields “for added protection from the virus.”

“Nagkakaroon po ng hawahan sa mga pampublikong sasakyan, kaya kung magbabalik tayo sa GCQ at magkakaroon na ulit ng operasyong ang LRT, MRT, at mga bus, dapat ay may face shield na bilang karagdagang proteksyon sa COVID-19,” Malaya said.

“BIDA ang may Disiplina: Solusyon sa COVID-19” is a national advocacy campaign jointly implemented by the DILG and Department of Health brought forth by the goal of encouraging people participation in the battle against COVID-19 by living a life of discipline and earnestly practicing the minimum health standards set by health authorities.*