Sara Duterte: Tricycles, taxis allowed in Davao City amid COVID-19 quarantine

Mayor Sara Duterte has allowed the operation of tricycles in the Davao City amid the implementation of a community quarantine meant to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte said the measure was both legal and practical.

According to Sara's Executive Order 23, the following modes of transportation are allowed in Davao City:

• private vehicles and taxis with one driver and one passenger in front and 1 at the back, observing physical distancing;
• tricycle with one driver and one passenger in front and one at the back, observing distancing;
• single rider motorcycle or bicycle; and
• free bus rides for employees of the essential services such as health workers and other frontliners.

Sara said the Department of the Interior and Local Government's Memorandum Circular 2020-062 issued on March 21, 2020 was her basis in allowing tricycles and taxis during the community quarantine.

“If the City Government of Davao will not allow taxis and tricycles to move the general public for their basic necessities, we will be caught in an absurd situation where people who own vehicles can easily move around and the general public would resort to walking more than 20kms just to buy food and other basic necessities,” Sara said.

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto during the early days of the community quarantine in Luzon also allowed tricycles to ferry health workers to and from the hospitals but was rebuffed by the DILG.

Department officials said it was impossible to implement social distancing in the small space provided in tricycles.

Pasig City has since complied with the DILG order and bought e-tricycles to ferry health workers, frontliners  and other outpatients in need of immediate care.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last week invited Sotto to explain his supposed defiance of the ban on mass transport by allowing tricycles to ply the roads amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sara said she was willing to face any inquiry over her decision.

“Let me also express my readiness to answer any inquiry that is to be made by the Department of Interior and Local Government and the National Bureau of Investigation on this decision,” Sara said.

“I would appreciate any proposal, should anyone have a better answer on how we can individually transport to the hospital, clinics, grocery stores, public markets, and other establishments providing basic necessities, at any given time, between 6 am and 6 pm, approximately 400,000 individuals with food and medicine passes, in an area comprised of 2,443.61 sq. km,” she added. -NB, GMA News