Duterte-Carpio bared this in a radio interview on Monday, January 17, three days after the city was elevated to Level 3 following the exponential increase of Covid-19 active cases in the city.
“Very liberal ang atoang (We will have a very liberal) implementation sa (of the) Alert Level 3. Ang emphasis dinhi sa (The emphasis on the) City Government side is mask and distancing. Giingnan na nako ang atoang (I told the) Covid-19 Task Force [nga] liberal ta sa (that it will be a liberal) implementation sa (of the) Alert Level 3 and there will be no closures from our side because dili siya pwede sa (it is not allowed under a) Alert level 3 [status],” the mayor said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
She said the city cannot keep on imposing lockdowns and closure on establishments.
“Kinahanglan nato madawat (We need to accept) as soon as possible nga kaning (that the) Covid-19 naa na gyud ni siya sa atong kinabuhi (will be part of our lives), and we cannot be forever imposing lockdowns ug kanang restrictions sa (and restrictions on) travel tungod kay kinahanglan mag-adjust and adapt na ta sa pandemic na naa sa atoa sa karon (because we need to adjust and adapt to the pandemic that we are experiencing right now),” she said.
She also said entertainment establishments, such as bars will be allowed to open, as long as they will not serve alcohol, which is prohibited in the modified liquor ban of the city through Executive Order 1.
The mayor said the city will not re-allow the serving of liquor in public places for now to avoid mass gatherings, which is vulnerable to the transmission of the virus.
Duterte-Carpio previously said that the city cannot be having an “open-close” guidelines on establishments, as this would have an impact on establishments especially for workers whose workplaces are imposing a “no work, no pay” scheme.
In case the national government, through the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease, will call the attention of the City Government for this, Duterte-Carpio said they will await their show-cause order, and the city in return will answer it.
Davao City is under Alert Level 3 until January 31.
