LGUs have no authority of their own to declare a new classification because they need to seek approval first.”

COTABATO CITY: All local government units (LGUs) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) were told to follow the guidelines set by the national Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) on the new general community quarantine (GCQ) status before declaring a new classification of their own.

BARMM’s interior minister Naguib Sinarimbo on Saturday said that LGUs do not have the authority to declare on their own because they need to seek approval first.

“If the provinces want to declare a new classification without the IATF-EID’s approval, they would need to submit it to the region’s IATF so we can recommend it to the national level,” Sinarimbo said during a radio interview here.

“We should wait for the guidelines, and once it’s released, there will be a process for the categorization of classification,” he added.

Sinarimbo said declarations by the LGUs may confuse their constituents who are worried by scarce access to government and health services, among others, due to the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

“The observation is, due to different declaration and guidelines by LGUs, people have become more anxious instead, rather than easing their worries,” he said.

Meanwhile, the IATF-EID’s new guidelines for GCQ released Saturday said all regions classified as low-risk areas–including BARMM– will be placed under GCQ beginning May 16 until May 31.

The new directive revoked an earlier pronouncement of lifting the community quarantine measure on places under the same category.

The BARMM IATF, meanwhile, has created a team to address the guidelines on the “new normal” based on recommendations from the national government and regional classification.

“We need to follow the omnibus guidelines set by the National IATF,” Sinarimbo said. (PNA)

Albashir Saiden | PNA