Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso called on all village officials to make sure the health and security measures in their areas of responsibility are being enforced.

“Ako’y nananawagan sa mga chairman, kagawad. Nakikisuyo ako, gampanan ninyo ang inyong tungkuling sa komunidad, kailangang kailangan. Tayo na lang ang takbuhan ng tao (I am appealing to all the chairmen and councilors. Please do your responsibilities in your communities. These are very much needed at this time. The people are counting on us). We have to do our jobs,” Domagoso said during his weekly Facebook live updates on Friday.

He understands how hard it is to live under a lockdown status.

“Una iniisip ko yung sarili ko nung ako’y squatter na ang lupa ng bahay namin 10 square meters. Nanay ko, tatay ko at ako. Buti na lang ako lang ang anak. Pano pa kung marami? Ikukulong mo ang mga tao sa bahay. Masakit ang lockdown (I always remember when we used to live as informal settlers. Our house was on a 10-square-meter lot. My parents and me. It’s good that I am an only child. What if there are many? You will confine people inside their homes. Lockdowns are difficult),” he said.

Two villages and two buildings are currently under hard lockdown in the nations’ capital amid rising coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections.

On Tuesday, Domagoso announced that Malate Bayview Mansion in Adriatico Street and Hop Inn Hotel in M. H. Del Pilar Street, both in Barangay 699, Malate, have 17 cases; Barangay 351 in San Lazaro has 12; and Barangay 725, also in Malate, has 14, based on the data from the Manila Health Department.

The lockdown started at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday and will last until 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Domagoso said due to the rising number of Covid-19 infections, all villages or buildings in the city that will record at least 10 Covid-19 cases will be placed under lockdown.

During the lockdown, the city government will conduct disease surveillance and massive contact tracing, verification, testing, and rapid risk assessment.

If village officials are irresponsible, Domagoso said he has no choice but to protect the neighboring villages.

“Pag tayo sa Maynila ay nag lockdown, ultimo pusa hindi ko pababayaang gumala (When we are under lockdown, I will not let even a cat to roam the streets),” he said.

He asked village chiefs to cooperate with the local government for an efficient enforcement of safety protocols.

“Patuloy ang paglago ng impeksyon sa Maynila. Ang virus ay walang kamay, paa o bibig. Tao ang nagpapakalat nyan (The number of infections continues to rise in Manila. The virus has no hands or feet or mouth. It’s people who spread the virus),” he said.

On Friday, Manila recorded 226 new Covid-19 cases. Active cases were at 1,246 out of 30,119 confirmed infections.

A total of 184 new recoveries brought the accumulated number to 28,050. (PNA)