ILIGAN CITY (PIA)--City Mayor Celso Regencia appealed to Iliganons to understand that the local government is doing its best to protect their lives against the continuing coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic.

This, after he issued Executive Order No. 192, series of 2021, imposing heightened restrictions due to the threat brought by other variants effective Tuesday, August 10, at 12:01 AM.

“Sa lumulupyo sa Iligan City, para ni pagprotektar sa inyong kinabuhi ug sa mga tigulang ug sa mga bata nga naa sa inyong tagsa-tagsa nga panimalay,” Regencia said.

[To the residents of Iligan City, this is to protect your lives and the elderly and the children in your respective homes.]

Regencia also called on the business sector to comprehend the significance of taking such decisions which may temporarily affect some of their businesses while he recognized that medical frontliners are already exhausted battling against the health crisis.

“Ato lang ipasabot, ilabina sa mga negosyante, nga importante man sa inyo ang negosyo para pud dili mamatay ang ekonomiya sa Iligan, pero para sa ako, mas importante ang kinabuhi kaysa negosyo kay kung moabot ang panahon nga daghan na ang maigo, wala na unyay baligyaan sa atong mga negosyante,” he said.

[We would like to make it understandable, especially to businessmen, that business may be important to you so that the economy of Iligan will not also die, but for me, lives are more important than businesses because when the time comes when many will get infected, there will be no one whom our businessmen can sell to.]

The local chief executive further urged healthcare workers, Iligan City Police Office (ICPO), and citizenry to still pour their best in living out their responsibilities and enforcing the newly issued executive order to finally put an end to this pandemic.

“Manghinaot ta nga kini matapos na tanan. Wala may giganahan ani. Lisod tinuod ang dili makalakaw nga gawasnon ug kini pugngan nato [ang COVID-19] para mawagtang ug mastop naning pagkuyanap pinaagi sa atong pagpaningkamot ug pagtinabangay,” he further said,

[Let us hope that everything will already end. No one wants this. It is indeed difficult not to walk with freedom and let us prevent [the COVID-19] so that this will vanish and the transmission will stop through our efforts and cooperation.] (CRG/PIA-ICIC)