Davao City extends curfew hours to fight COVID-19 transmission

Curfew hours in Davao City will be extended from the previous 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Thursday, October 15, 2020.

Mayor Sara Duterte gave the order through Executive Order 55, which also bans purchase of liquors and other intoxicating drinks from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The order also prohibits drinking in public places like roads, alleys, open spaces, and other similar places at any given time.

Mayor Duterte, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, cited the challenge of preventing COVID-19 transmission as reason behind her order.

“This is based on interviews of confirmed COVID-19 patients. We have seen their movement and deemed it necessary to regulate the non-essential activities of the people,” she said on Davao City Disaster Radio.

Mayor Duterte also cited the critical status of the number of beds dedicated to COVID-19 in the Davao-based Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).

Curfew hours were initially eased to 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. last July 31 when the city was placed under modified general community quarantine protocol.

While the curfew only covers individuals, Mayor Duterte called on offices, establishments, places of worship, and other institutions to adjust their operating hours.

Individuals who are frisked on the streets or stopped in checkpoints, on the other hand, are required to present an employee’s ID of an establishment operating within the curfew hours.

For transportation, Mayor Duterte has tasked the City Transport and Traffic Management Office to monitor passengers who will be stranded during the curfew hours and provide transport augmentation.

The longer curfew, however, exempts the following:

• all government workers who are on duty during curfew hours;
• private offices and establishments employees who time in and time out of work within the curfew hours (this shall mean to include their travel to and from their residence);
• medical doctors and veterinarians who need to work;
• workers of public utility companies (energy, water, internet, etc.) conducting construction, maintenance, or emergency activities;
• subsistence and business fishing activities (their vessels are subject to lawful inspection by the Maritime Police, Task Force Davao, Navy or Coast Guard, if there is a reasonable belief that there is an illegal activity or unlawful materials in the vessel);
• individuals attending the wake of a family member; and
• medical, emergency, and disaster cases.

Videoke and karaoke inside private property will also be prohibited from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day. In the event that the singing becomes disruptive to the neighbors of the owner of the machine/equipment, the Purok Leader can require police assistance. —KBK, GMA New