Davao City to fine violators of 14-day quarantine

Violators of the mandatory 14-day quarantine will now be fined of P5,000 after the City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance to penalize individuals not complying with the quarantine imposed by the government to help prevent the spread of coronavirus disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick.

Certified urgent by Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte, the proposed “Ordinance to Penalize All Persons Violating the Mandatory Fourteen (14) day Home Quarantine for Covid-19 Imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), or any Public Health Authority Authorized to Impose the same” was passed under suspended rules.

“We are living under unusual times in a pandemic, therefore, it is very important that persons who are told to undergo a 14-day home quarantine be penalized if they violate such quarantine. I feel that we will send a stronger message to deter Dabawenyos violating quarantine laws if we pass this ordinance,” said Councilor Mary Joselle Villafuerte, the chairperson of the City Council Committee on Health and the proponent of the ordinance.

The ordinance or the “Mandatory 14-day Quarantine Ordinance of Davao City” will apply to all residents of Davao City and non-residents who are transiting or being held in the city for mandatory quarantine either in a government facility, a private facility, or at one’s place of residence.

Under the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) policy, the mandatory 14-day quarantine applies to (a) all asymptomatic returning Overseas Filipino Workers, whether sea-based or land-based, subject to the arrangements, and rules and regulations imposed by the governing authority, (b) asymptomatic returning OFWs and holder of permanent resident visas, (c) asymptomatic Locally Stranded Individuals, (d) asymptomatic healthcare workers with unprotected exposure (defined as working in a healthcare facility with confirmed Covid-19 patients within the last 14 days without appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)) should remain isolated for 14 days unless RT-PCR tests are available, (e) asymptomatic non-healthcare workers who test IgM positive in rapid tests, are required to undergo isolation at home or a community quarantine facility for 14 days, and (f) other such cases which require mandatory 14-day home quarantine as prescribed by law.

The Department of Health Center for Health Development-Davao, Davao City Health Office, and the Davao City Police Office (DCPO). As for the barangay level, the Punong Barangays and the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT) shall ensure the enforcement of the ordinance. CIO