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MANILA - Iloilo City should not be placed under strict lockdown or enhanced community quarantine until the end of the month, its mayor said Monday.

The ECQ classification is "anticipatory and preemptive" after a Delta COVID-19 variant case was reported in Pandan town, Antique, according to Mayor Jerry Treñas.

The mayor, however, does not agree that the city should be placed under strict lockdown.

• Iloilo province, 3 other areas placed under ECQ until July 31
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"I have my own reasons why Iloilo City should not be placed on ECQ. One, the Delta variant was found in Pandan, Antique, which is 200 kilometers away from Iloilo City. Second, the numbers of Iloilo City compared to June are 20 percent lower," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

"If we look at the numbers, it does not really justify. Tapos (Then) we really have to go back to PhilHealth. PhilHealth does not pay the hospitals in Iloilo...hospitals cannot open up more beds because they cannot hire more personnel until and unless the billings are paid."

Treñas previously said hospital billings to PhilHealth amounted to nearly P1 billion in March.

• PhilHealth yet to reimburse hospital claims in Iloilo, Tuguegarao: local execs

The city government will give out 10,000 food packs and open 230 community kitchens, Treñas added.

Iloilo City as of Sunday logged 1,011 active cases out of a total 13,120 infections, according to the health department's website.