DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said it is still "premature" to say that the city is a role model local government unit (LGU) in the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) response in the country when the city’s cases continue to increase.
This was the mayor's reaction a day after Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque cited the city's strict implementation of health protocol in response to the Covid-19 can be replicated by other cities and municipalities.
"Strikto po talaga ang implementasyon nila ng mga quarantine guidelines dito, bagamat [MGCQ] na ang Davao City, sarado pa rin ang mga tourist spots, at hindi pa nagbubukas ang Samal Island. Mukhang matindi ang pagpapatupad ng quarantine regulations dito sa Davao City (Davao City, despite being under MGCQ, is very strict in its implementation of the quarantine guidelines. As I observed, even tourist spots, such as Samal Island, is still closed to the public. I must say, they are tight in their quarantine regulations)," Roque, who was in Davao City, said during a media briefing on Thursday, July 9.
Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Friday, July 10, that she cannot personally cite any best practice that could even benchmark the city as an effective implementer of the Covid-19 response.
"Wala man gu'y precedent na masulti nato nga kini best practice ba siya or dili. But usually, ang LGU (local government unit), murespond mana siya, depending on the situation diha sa iyang area of responsibility. (There is precedence in telling if this is a best practice or not. But usually, LGUs respond depending on the situation in their area of responsibility)," she said.
With the city's rising number of cases, she said it is "premature" to tell that the city can be a model with regards to its preventive measures.
Based on the July 11 Covid-19 data of the Department of Health-Davao Region, Davao City remains to have the highest number of Covid-19 cases with 548. Of this number, 365 already recovered and 153 are active cases.
The city already recorded 30 deaths.
Duterte-Carpio said they already expected the increase in the number of cases, following the city's shift to a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
She also cited that returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs) had contributed to the surge of cases.
With this, she said the city is intensifying its quarantine measures, and community case finding to mitigate the spread of the virus.
The mayor said the city will continue to implement localized lockdown in some parts of the city to slow the spread of the disease in some areas.
Barangay 23-C, since July 4, has been placed under hard lockdown, after recording the most number of Covid-19 cases in the city. (RGL)