Davao City: The Davao City Government has started implementing actions against Covid-19 as early as February 10, 2020, with the release of its very first guideline.
As we are moving to the more serious phase of this battle to control the virus, we have also to deal with government offices and private institutions that, for reasons that are beyond me, try to defy the very same controls that we have made to protect the city and the entire Davao Region.
When we operationalized our emergency operation center, the decisions of the City Mayor’s Office were guided every step of the way by the Department of Health epidemiologists and the private sector infectious disease specialists.
We have crafted rules, guidelines, and orders supposedly to protect the general public welfare and despite this, some government offices seem not to care about the effort that the entire city and the region have been doing to help the nation.
These offices seem to care more for batches of 2, 4, 7, even 30 individuals against the 4.8 million population of Filipinos in the region. This is an unfortunate case of a government working against others in government.
I would like to respectfully request on National
Government Agencies to stop asking me to defy rules that have been put in place to help you fight Covid-19 and protect the people of this region.
Everyone is a possible virus carrier and we need for almost all individuals to stop moving and we simply cannot do this if we are asked to defy rules. Please allow me to do what our doctors and even the World Health Organization recommend for the country to do.
In a related matter, I warn private hospitals to follow the rules set out in Davao City Government Executive Order 20-A.
Do not provide special treatment for a few individuals against the safety of the entire staff and personnel of your hospital.
We have labored on the protocols with the DOH. If our own hospitals do not follow protocols, we should not have any at all.
We have thousands of Davao region residents and government workers making the sacrifice in their personal lives and businesses.
I call on everyone — let us not make the efforts of many, futile – just to accommodate the few.
Thank you.