Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio issued two executive orders (EO), prohibiting non-essential travel, mandating the use of FM pass, and limiting non-city residents to come in and out of the city.
On November 13, Duterte Carpio issued EO No. 62, prohibiting non-essential travels in the city.
Under EO 62 strictly defined “essential goods and services” as “all goods and services relating to the human need for food, medicine, medical dental, and allied-medical services, health and wellness, money, work or shelter.”
The EO also brought back the mandatory use of food and medicine (FM) pass, which should only be used by those who needed to buy food or medicine or go to the clinics and hospitals.
Mayor Sara already lifted these restrictions and the 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew on August 3 when the city shifted to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
The local government issued the stricter measures after a spike in COVID-19 cases due to the local transmission was observed in mid-October.
According to the city’s contact tracing, most of the virus transmissions were bought by activities done after office hours.
The recent trend showed the COVID-19 transmissions were no longer contained within homes or small communities but also within offices and establishments.
Also read: Davao City doctors call for 2-week lockdown as COVID-19 cases soar
Davao City prohibits non-essential travel; brings back FM pass
Dava City previously attributed its COVID-19 surge to returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and not local transmission.
“There goes ang atoang giingong nga self-regulation, bagsak. Bagsak ang Davao City (Davao City failed in self-regulation),” the mayor said.
Department of Health-Davao reported that as of November 14, Davao City reported 5,114 cases, comprising 69% of the 7,361 total COVID-19 cases in the region.
Meanwhile, effective 5 a.m. on November 18, the city will be limiting non-city residents to come in and out of the city.
EO 63 said, “there is a need to seek the assistance of Joint Task Force (JTF) Covid Shield for enforcement of authorized persons outside residence (Apor) and non-Apor travel into Davao City to insulate other LGUs from the effect of the surging cases in the city as well as to further protect the residents of Davao City.”
The EO defined Apors as health and emergency frontline services personnel; government officials, employees, government frontline duly-authorized personnel; Humanitarian Assistance Actors (HAAs); and coming in for work or business and going home.
All Apors via land and air travel must submit several requirements before they will be allowed entry to Davao City.