The Davao City government will continue to implement the use of the food and medicine (FM) pass while the city remains in an extended General Community Quarantine (GCQ).
Mayor Inday Sara Duterte, however, said there is a need for the city government to review the existing guidelines on the use of the FM pass and, possibly, come up with new rules to avoid confusion on the implementation of control measures on the ground.
“Kinahanglan siya buhatan og guidelines before siya i-withdraw or i-continue with modification para dili magkagubot ang implementation sa ground (We need to craft guidelines before withdrawing it or to continue it with modification so it would not create confusion on the ground),” Mayor Inday Sara Duterte said.
Mayor Sara said she has previously discussed the lifting of the FM pass system when the city shifted to GCQ but this was not approved by the security sector.
“Initially, when the FM pass was discussed in relation to GCQ, wala mosugot ang atoang security sector nga tanggalon ang FM pass. Pero nag-ingon si Secretary Año nga dili daw kinahanglan ang quarantine passes during GCQ sa Metro Manila (Initially, when FM pass was discussed in relation to GCQ, the security sector did not approve to stop its implementation. But Secretary Año said that quarantine passes during GCQ are not needed in Metro Manila),” Mayor Sara said.
Mayor Sara cited a statement by DILG Secretary Eduardo Año in an interview with CNN Philippines saying that quarantine passes will not be needed in Metro Manila when the capital city shifts to GCQ after May 31.
Año had told CNN on May 28, 2020, that the GCQ is not a total lockdown anymore but would only need minimum health standards to be followed by people.
Under the FM pass system, residents are only allowed to go out of their homes when they need to buy food and medicine. It is also regulated by the Davao City Police Office by only allowing FM pass holders with numbers ending in 1,3,5,7,9 to go out every Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while the FM passes ending 2,4,6,8,0, are allowed to go out every Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. No FM pass is allowed to be used on Sundays. CIO