Davao City still under MGCQ; FM pass, curfew to be lifted

Davao City will remain under the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) but the implementation of the Food and Medicine (FM) pass and the curfew hour will be lifted from Monday, August 3, 2020.

This was announced by Mayor Inday Sara Duterte during her talk to Dabawenyos over the Davao City Disaster Radio on Friday after the National Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) bared the quarantine classification of the cities and provinces in the country.

With the lifting of the FM pass and the curfew hour, Mayor Sara still expects Dabawenyos to practice self-regulation. And, for people to still keep their FM for the possible use of the FM system depending on the compliance of people to the minimum health standards.

She said quarantine can be implemented until a cure or vaccine against the coronavirus is available, emphasizing self-discipline for their safety and to prevent spreading the virus.

“We want people to self-regulate. Meaning, kahibalo sila nga dunay quarantine, dunay stay at home, pero wala na tay regulation to make sure that they stay at home. We want people to understand nga kinahanglan mag gikan na sa ilaha (We want people to self-regulate. Meaning, they know that there is a quarantine, there is a stay at home, but there will be no regulation to make sure that they stay at home. We want people to understand that this must come from them),” Mayor Sara said.

She reminded the people that activities outside of their homes are for essential purposes for their benefit that they do not contract Covid-19.

Mayor Sara said people must practice self-discipline because there is no cure for Civd-19 yet. “This [Covid-19] will be here with us until we do not know when,” she added.

The mayor reiterated to make the four prevention measures a daily habit: 1) staying at home, 2) wearing face masks when going outside, 3) keeping a two-meter distance from other people, and 4) frequent handwashing with soap and water.

She said if Dabawenyos practice the four ways, the city will not revert to stricter quarantine measures.

“We want our city to be open and the key there is the people. Kung naa ta’y compliance ana (If we have compliance), we can keep our numbers low and manageable,” she said.

The city is yet to release the full guidelines on the new MGCQ regulations in an executive order on Monday. (City Information Office – Davao City)

A version of this article was first published on the Official Website of the City Government of Davao.