Davao Region under
Davao Region, including President Rodrigo Duterte's hometown of Davao City, has started implementing on Thursday, a 14-day lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease in the region.
In the refined guidelines, Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte, chairperson of the Davao Region COVID-19 Task Force, said the "land lockdown" began on 00:01H March 19, 2020 until 23:59H April 1, 2020.
"Anyone can leave the region at anytime but cannot come back during the lockdown period," she said.
The presidential daughter ordered the Army's 10th Infantry Division and the Police Regional Office XI to divide areas of all highways in Davao Region and assign which unit should secure a particular place for the protection of the people and cargo traveling on the highways.
"No person or vehicle shall be allowed enter Davao Region except for vehicles with cargo and one driver with no assistants/passengers," Duterte said, adding that the driver could not go down the truck.
She said that cargo means animals, vegetables, and all other non-living things but not dead human bodies and the vehicles carrying them should have Davao Region as their final destination.
The cargo vehicle assistants/passengers may be offloaded at the checkpoint to wait for the truck to return and leave Davao Region.
Empty cargo vehicles may come in to pick up cargo inside Davao Region with one driver only without assistants/passengers.
In case of a truck breakdown, the owner shall be responsible for its retrieval.
Duterte also issued Executive Order No. 18 granting exemption to certain international and domestic air travel to and from Davao City.
This was after the mayor earlier came out with separate EOs suspending all international and domestic flights in the city.
"There is a need to exempt certain international and domestic air travel from the coverage of the said Executive Orders to maintain the delivery of basic governmental services," she said.
Those exempted from the coverage of EO Nos. 12 and 13 are cargo flights, medical evacuations (air ambulance), weather mitigation flights, maintenance flights, government and military flights, emergency landing, and recovery flights for expatriates, provided that each flight is subject to prior clearance by the city government of Davao.
For emergency landing, Duterte said that all crew and passengers would not disembark as much as possible but if needed, they would be contained in an isolation room in the airport.
The mayor also issued another EO for the temporary closure of all malls and mixed-use building, except supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, mall in-house department stores, medical laboratories, doctors and dentists' offices beginning 11:59pm of March 19 until after the state of public health emergency is lifted.
She also directed the closure of internet shops, gaming stations, billard halls, videokes, basketball courts, badminton courts, bowling alleys, movie houses, bingo outlets, e-gaming establishments, lotto outlets, kids' playrooms, video arcades, spas, massage parlors, beauty salons/parlors, and carnivals or peryahan.
Duterte also prolonged the liquor ban in the city from 5pm until 8am from previous 1am to 8am.
President Duterte earlier declared a state of public health emergency in the whole country due to COVID-19 pandemic. Celerina Monte/DMS
