The provincial government here started on Tuesday the use of a service dropbox system to continue serving residents without having physical or face-to-face transactions.

The move aims to protect the public as well as the employees from acquiring the coronavirus.

“Sa pamamagitan nito ay sisikapin nating maipagkaloob pa rin ang paglilingkod na hindi muna magkakaroon ng physical contact o face-to-face transaction ang kliyente at mga kawani ng tanggapang nagkakaloob ng serbisyo (Through this, we will try to still provide the service without first having physical contact or face-to-face transaction between the client and the staff of the office providing the service),” Governor Daniel Fernando said in an interview.

The provincial capitol building was temporarily closed last March 16 after two guards assigned at the Governance Center were tested positive for Covid-19.

Since then, the front doors of the capitol building remain closed.

An area at the back of the building with tents and chairs was set up to attend to the various concerns of Bulakenyos.

Under the system, every office provides a transparent dropbox with a proper label where various requests and documents will be placed. The dropboxes are put on tables at the back of the Capitol, which is the waiting area for Bulakenyos.

Also, the use of modern technology and/or any social media platforms to promote awareness about the available services of the provincial government will be intensified.

After the first phase of implementation, the governor said an assessment will be conducted to determine the next step.

Fernando, meanwhile, reiterated the strict minimum public health standards implementation.

“Mag-ingat po tayong lahat. ‘Wag po tayong magpaka-kampante dahil tumataas po ang kaso hindi po bumababa. Huwag nating ipagwalang bahala ang mga isinakripisyo na natin noong nakaraang taon at patuloy po tayong magdasal (Let’s all be careful. ‘Let us not be complacent because the case is increasing and not decreasing. Let us not ignore the sacrifices we made last year and let us continue to pray),” he said.

As of March 22, the province has a total of 14,770 cases, with 1,496 active cases.

The total number of recoveries is 12, 774 while the number of deaths is 500.

Bulacan, along with Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, is under general community quarantine from March 22 to April 4. (PNA)