The Bacolod City government, led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, hosted an appreciation ceremony for seven volunteers of the Emergency Operations Center Task Force (EOC-TF) at the Bacolod City Government Center lobby Thursday night, February 4.
The seven are Dr. Chris Sorongon and Dr. Hector Gayares Jr. – EOC medical cluster deputies, Dr. Dolores Rommela Ruiz – president of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases-Western Visayas, Dr. Michael Thomas Salvador – president of the Philippine College of Physicians-Negros Occidental Chapter, John Dave Dueñas – deputy for data management, Noelle Ibarra, and Jinky Besana, a press release from the Bacolod Public Information Office said today.
EOC executive director Em Ang said these volunteers have greatly contributed to the EOC and the city government , in sustaining the harmonized and synchronized strategies and activities geared towards containing the spread of COVID-19.
“We would really want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. That’s the least and the most that we can do,” Leonardia told the volunteers at the ceremony.
“We started from scratch — not only that, we were also in the dark, which is also same with other cities. If not for you then where do you think we are now?” he added.
Bacolod – like any other LGU – has suffered from the impact of the pandemic but this struggle became bearable when the volunteers showed up and helped, Leonardia said.
Bacolod had once recorded an average of 86 COVID-19 cases per day, or 2,500 cases a month. But recent data showed that the city’s daily fresh case count is only at a single digit, he added.
“It didn’t happen because of natural process. It was a man-made process. That man-made process was made possible because of you,” Leonardia said.
Ang also said the volunteers have been invaluable in the planning and running of the initiatives, responses, procedures, and activities geared towards curbing the spread of the virus.
“Our dedicated volunteers pulled us through the toughest times. Thank you for being our guiding light in those dark days of the COVID crisis. The EOC is proud of all of you. You are the best expression of who we are as Bacolodnons. You saw the need and you responded,” Ang said.
The seven volunteers received plaques of appreciation from the city government.
Gayares, Sorongon, Salvador, and Dueñas also received a plaques from the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-6) as “Outstanding COVID-19 Volunteers.”*