Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte on Tuesday has ordered the arrest of people selling and faking Food and Medicine (FM) passes in the city.
The mayor issued the order after receiving reports that selling bogus FM passes has been the new modus of people taking advantage of the current situation.
The FM pass is required for a member of the household to bring whenever he/she goes out to buy food and medicine during the off-curfew hours from 6:01 a.m to 5:59 p.m under the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
FM passes have been distributed last week through the barangay captains or the purok leaders. The use of FM passes is effective on Tuesday, April 7, 2020.
Mayor Sara warned people caught selling and using bogus FM passes will be immediately arrested.
“Giingnan na nako ang atoang safety and security kaganina and then gi-refer pud nato sa Anti-Scam. Niana ko na i-entrap na ninyo and whoever it is nga makit-an ninyo nga gagamit ug FM pass, wala na’y daghan istorya, diretso na sa prisinto (I already told our Safety and Security officers and referred to the Anti-Scam, as well, to entrap individuals using fake FM pass and they must be arrested right away),” she said.
Mayor Sara said it is easy to determine a legitimate FM pass from fake FM. The fake FMs are photocopies of the original and in the ordinary paper while the original FM is printed in thicker material.
She also debunked claims that FM passes are distributed only to registered voters, saying, “whether or not you are a voter, you are entitled to an FM pass.”
“Sa atoang guidelines wala ma’y nakabutang didto na you have to be a voter, because whether or not you are a voter, mukaon man gihapon ka, mupalit gihapon ka’g tambal and there will be instances nga kinahanglan ka muadto’g ospital so mali na guide na dapat botante and hatagan ug FM pass (Our guidelines does not state you have to be a registered voter to have FM pass. Whether or not you are a voter, you still need to eat, buy medicines, and there will be instances that you would need to go to the hospital. So it’s a wrong guide to say that you must be a voter before you will be given an FM pass),” she explained. CIO
