THE implementation of the district clustering system will last during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio clarified on Monday, April 20.
The clustering system took effect at 12:01 a.m. of April 20. This is on top of the number coding system of the food and medicine (FM) pass, which took effect on April 19, as an additional control measure during the ECQ period in the city.
The ECQ is expected to end at 11:59 p.m. of April 26. But Duterte-Carpio said the lifting or extension would depend on the recommendation of the medical consultants, which would base it on current Covid-data in the following days.
The clustering of districts for FM pass is divided into six clusters.
Cluster 1 covers districts Of Poblacion A And B, and Talomo, wherein FM pass holders are only allowed to visit in their respective wet markets (palengke), specifically Bankerohan Public Market, Piapi Market, Boulevard Market, Talomo Market, Matina-Aplaya Market, Matina Crossing Market, and Puan Market.
Cluster 2 covers Agdao District, which only allows FM pass holders to buy at Agdao Public Market.
For Cluster 3 (Buhangin District) covers Buhangin Market and Cabantian Market; Cluster 4 (Toril District) covers Toril Public Market; Cluster 5 covers Districts Of Calinan, Baguio, Marilog, Tugbok And Some Barangays Of Paquibato, wherein they are only allowed to buy at Calinan Public Market, Mintal Public Market, and Tugbok Market; and Cluster 6, which covers district Of Bunawan And Some Barangays Of Paquibato And The Island Garden City Of Samal, which allows FM pass holders to buy at Sasa Market, Panacan Market, Tibungco Public Market, Bunawan Public Market, and Lasang Public Market.
The City reminded the public that the FM passes of residents can only be used in the wet market/palengke, pharmacy, and grocery stores inside their District Cluster. Only those ECQ exempted individuals due to their nature of work are allowed to go outside of their clusters.
However, an FM pass holder is allowed to buy from another cluster if the medicine prescribed by the doctor is not available in their cluster.
It added that travel to hospitals and banks outside of a resident’s cluster shall be decided by the frontliner at the checkpoint.
Moreover, the City Government emphasized that for emergency cases, FM passes’ number coding and clustering scheme will not be applied.
Duterte-Carpio, meanwhile, said the clustering was intended to limit the movement of the people outside of their clusters.
While the mayor said that the strict implementation of the coding scheme is only limited to public markets, however, she said there are some grocery stores that are strictly abiding by the scheduling.
The mayor said she expanded the coverage of the cluster to cover areas that do not have wet markets, pharmacies, and grocery stores.
Duterte-Carpio emphasized the usage of FM passes is not a valid reason to go out anytime, except in buying food and medicine.
“Sa sugod pa lang wala namo na gipanganlan og quarantine pass. Gipanganlan namo kini og food and medicine (pass) aron makasabot ang mga tao nga mugawas lang mo aron mupalit og pagkaon ug tambal (We did not name the passes as ‘quarantine passes’ since we first implemented it, so that people would understand that the FM passes are strictly for buying of food and medicine only),” she said.
The mayor previously called out the increase of people going out the streets despite being under ECQ.
This had resulted to the implementation of the coding scheme, wherein FM passes with control numbers starting with odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 are only allowed to go out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while those with control numbers starting with even numbers 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 are only allowed to go out on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Meanwhile, FM passes cannot be used on Sundays.