Davao City – Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte called on public and private schools, colleges, and universities to keep their students in their residences during class hours whether they are on modular or online modes of learning since some minors, mostly students, were recently caught violating quarantine guidelines.
Duterte made this statement during her Davao City Disaster Radio program that aired Monday, October 26.
“I am calling out schools, public and private, make sure your students are inside their residences, make a system.” she said on the heels of the reports reaching her that some students were caught loitering around.
She appealed to the academic institutions, saying, “Manawagan kami. Inyong mga estudyante nagsuroy-suroy. Mga senior high school and college looking students naggimik, nagsuroy-suroy, nagtapok-tapok. Ilang mga parents siguro nagtrabaho. (We are asking you. Your students are just loitering around. Senior high school and college looking students are just having gimmicks, loitering, and gathering together. Maybe their parents are also working.) Do something about your attendance during class hours.”
Duterte said the schools should not expect the city government of Davao to go after these students who are not attending their classes.
“We won’t run after these students. Please find a way that they don’t loiter around,” she said in the vernacular, adding that non-essential gatherings such as this contribute to the spike of active coronavirus disease (COVID) cases in Davao City, which as of October 25 totaled 837.
She also said the alternative modes of learning were implemented to keep minors and students safe at home and keep them from the COVID-19 threat. She was disappointed to hear reports that some students were not studying at home but were instead caught violating quarantine guidelines during class hours.
(City Information Office | OIC Michael Manguhig, RPN DXKT Davao)