Davao City to distribute Food and Medicine passes

The Davao City government will be distributing Food and Medicine (FM) passes to Dabawenyos that will be used only when the city goes into an Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to stop the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) transmission.

An ECQ is the next level of quarantine period when the mass public transportation will be suspended and allows only essential establishments to be operational such as groceries, supermarkets, and banks.

For now, Mayor Inday Sara Duterte said Davao City is not yet under ECQ.

Mayor Sara told Dabawenyos not to worry about securing FM passes because these will be distributed by the city councilors through the barangay captains and then to the purok leaders.

“Kaning food and medicine pass, you only need this kung magdeclare ta og Enhanced Community Quarantine. Sa pagkakaron, wala pa man ta sa Enhanced Community Quarantine, dili na kinahanglan og food and medicine pass. We will announce kung kanus-a ta mag ECQ so sa pagka-karon, naga-distribute lang ta og pass (You only need the food and medicine pass the Enhanced Community Quarantine will be declared. For now, we are not under Enhanced Community Quarantine so we do not need food and medicine pass. We will announce when we will implement the ECQ. For now, we are only distributing passes)” she said during her Special Hour over the Davao City Disaster Radio on Monday.

The mayor said Dabawenyos will be fully informed when an ECQ will be declared through an Executive Order which will be disseminated through all the Davao City Government’s official media platforms.

She asked Dabawenyos not to panic when the city implements the ECQ.

Meantime, purok leaders will distribute the FM passes by house-to-house or if the house-to-house distribution is not possible, they may devise their ways of distribution provided that they conduct ‘no contact, no mass gathering’ distribution scheme.

For subdivisions, homeowners may get their passes from the purok leaders.

Those who will receive/entitled of an FM pass are: boarder or renter (one FM pass); the single-family household (one FM pass); and, those that are in one roof or one household with many families inside (multiple households) is entitled to one (1) FM pass per family.

The bearer of the pass should present his/her valid ID and other documents (company IDs, passport, and other government-issued IDs) as proof of their identity. Xerox copy or a picture of identification is not allowed.

The FM pass is also not for sale and non-transferable.

Mayor Sara warned those who will use a fake FM pass shall be prosecuted under pertinent laws. CIO