While Metro Manila has witnessed cases of assault and even death at the hands of the police, Baguio City has been showing more medical solutions in response to the pandemic. As the number of positive cases in the country continue to increase daily, Baguio has consequently been implementing innovative and efficient solutions to hamper the spread of the virus within their city.

Recently, there has been a sighting of Baguio City police from District 9 with disinfectants inside their holsters instead of firearms. The police were also wearing both face masks and shields while monitoring a queue of people following social distancing measures. Facebook users sharing and commenting on the posts said that this made them feel more safe and secure in the city, while others commended on the discipline of the citizens as well.

Additionally, the city of Baguio has also taken the initiative to place visual cues on the road outside the public market to signify where to stand while queuing and to ensure that their citizens observe social distancing. The visual cues, which were painted one meter apart from each other, proved to be effective as seen in a video posted by Baguio’s Public Information Office on their Facebook account.

The post made its rounds on social media, with netizens commending the city’s local government unit (LGU) for their use of creative solutions without the use of violence to uphold discipline. Pasig City’s chief transport planner, Anton Siy, shared that Filipinos can be disciplined once good and efficient systems are implemented.

Turns out Pinoys behave when we actually design good systems instead of just whining about "disiplina!" https://t.co/miU6OQCVwu

— sa islang panopticon (@goodkidbikecity) April 28, 2020

On Apr. 26, Baguio City’s LGU also announced that all vulnerable households within the city will be receiving food assistance from the city throughout the rest of the year, from May to December. Around 10,000 families will be included in this social welfare program currently being finalized. Other than that, the Office of the City Social Welfare and Development will be providing counseling sessions for medical frontliners and barangay officials.

Baguio City was originally set to shift its enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to a general community quarantine by May 1. However, nearby Benguet province was recently declared a high-risk area, extending Baguio’s ECQ to last until May 15.

The city has only recorded 29 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city. Twelve of them have recovered and one has died, leaving only 16 active cases, 10 of them being medical frontliners. Nationwide, there are currently 8,212 positive cases with 1,023 recoveries and 558 deaths.

Header photo courtesy of Chynna Ulep Albert

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