City considering enhanced community quarantine

DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio clarified that the city government is still looking into the possibility of placing the city under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

This, despite, the city government issuing guidelines in the distribution of quarantine passes or as the city government would name it, the Davao City food and medicine (FM) pass.

She said they are already preparing for the FM passes, in case the city will declare the ECQ.

“Sa pagkakaron, wala pa ta sa enhanced community quarantine. Nag-distribute lang ‘ta og pass. (As of now, we are still not under enhanced community quarantine. We are only distributing the passes),” Duterte-Carpio on Monday, March 30, in a radio interview via 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.

Initially, some barangays in the city had started distributing quarantine passes in their respective barangays to limit the people going out to buy necessary items such as food and medicine.

However, the mayor suspended its distribution after noticing inconsistencies in its implementation.

Duterte-Carpio, immediately, said they will impose a unified pass, which they renamed to FM pass.

“We made it food and medicine pass para makasabot ang mga tao nga (so the public would be informed that) you could only go out for food and medicine (purposes),” Duterte-Carpio said.

The FM passes, however, would exempt individuals who would be going outside due to “emergency situations” including rushing a patient to the hospital.

Based on the issued guidelines by the local government, the team leaders, who are the City Councilors, will deliver the FM passes to their respective districts through the barangay captains.

While the barangay captains will deliver the FM passes to the purok leaders, and the latter will distribute the passes to their constituents.

The local government noted that the delivery of passes should be house to house, if possible. In case it will be impossible, purok leaders can devise their own method of the distribution, provided that physical distancing of two meters will be strictly observed.

Residents within subdivisions and associations can get their FM passes through the purok leaders. They can also conduct their own distribution scheme, still following the social distancing.