MOTORISTS traveling to Marilog District and Bukidnon-Davao Road (Buda) in Davao City can now expect long queues, as leisure travels to these areas will no longer be permitted in a bid to regulate "non-essential" travels while the city's Covid-19 cases continue to surge.
Marilog Police Station Commander Police Captain Philip Dave Uddin said they had been strictly abiding by the Davao City Executive Order (EO), emphasizing that only those who will be traveling for essential purposes such as accessing food and medicine, and other basic goods and services, will be allowed to get through at checkpoints.
Uddin said the Marilog Police had started imposing stricter checkpoint measures since last week, where security personnel will be asking motorists their purpose of travel.
He also said they are also checking if there are minors and seniors 65 years old and above in the car, who are considered as part of the vulnerable sector, thus are not allowed to go out during quarantine.
"Starting pa sa atong ECQ, atoa nang ginapatuman ang hugot nga pag-inspection. Ang dili essential labi na ning laag-laag diri sa Marilog ug Buda, dili na sila dali-dali nga makaanhi labi na og naay edaran ug menor nga usa sa mga anaa sa atong EO (We already started our strict inspection since the city was placed under ECQ. Those who will be traveling to Marilog and Buda can no longer get through our checkpoints easily, especially those who have minors and elders who are part of the vulnerable sector on board, as stated by the EO)," the police official said in a phone interview.
Uddin said there have been a lot of people going outside to travel since the city shifted to a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) in July this year and that they noted an increase of motorists who travel to these areas every weekend.
Marilog and Buda are well-known tourist destinations in the city due to its high elevation and cold weather, comparing it to Baguio City.
Uddin said they were able to intercept an estimated 50 vehicles on Saturday, November 7.
"More or less naa sa 50 vehicles na naay menor or mga edaran nga bawal gyod nga naa sa EO. Naa pod mga big-bike atong gipabalik, dili man na essential kon importante, mas maayong magpuyo sa ta sa balay aron malikay gyod ta sa virus (We have apprehended around 50 vehicles with minors and elderlies which are strictly prohibited under the EO. There were also big-bikers who we advised to return to where they came from, since those were non essential travels, it's better to stay at home to prevent from contracting the virus)," he said, adding that most of those who were intercepted are from Davao City.
With the stricter checkpoints, Uddin said they are asking the public's cooperation and patience in this matter.
"Mao nang trapik ta gamay kay gina-isa-isa gyud nato sila sa pagpangutana (This is the reason why they should expect heavy traffic in these areas as we are checking and interrogating the motorists one-by-one)," he said.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, meanwhile, said in a radio interview on Monday, November 9, that she gave a marching order to all security forces in the city to tighten the regulation of movements in the city.
Duterte-Carpio said the city, based on her previous EOs, is prohibiting non-essential travels, particularly for leisure purposes, as these could further increase the Covid-19 cases in the city.
However, the mayor noticed that based on the provisions of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) guidelines, some of these do not fit in an area placed under MGCQ.
"Incompatible ang mga provisions sa MGCQ because even if nakaingon siya nga MGCQ, meaning dunay quarantine, pero naga-allow siya og (The provisions given to an area under MGCQ is incompatible because even if it is still under a quarantine, they had allowed some establishments to operate such as) entertainment, amusement, and gaming," Duterte-Carpio said in an interview via 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
With this, the mayor said the city addressed these issues by following Section 5, Number 2 provision of the IATF Omnibus Guidelines October 22-version which states that, "movement of all persons in areas placed under MGCQ shall be limited to accessing essential goods and services for work in the offices or the industry permitted to operate hereunder and for other activities."
Duterte-Carpio had attributed non-essential travels and mass gatherings as contributory factors that resulted in the city's significant increase of Covid-19 cases.
The city has since reimposed curfew, 24-hour liquor ban, and the regulation of mass gatherings in a bid to lower down the city's Covid-19 active cases.