CHECKING THE STREETS. Cotabato City Mayor Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi (center) personally inspected Monday (April 13) the enhanced quarantine passes of motorists plying the city after learning that many private car users and their passengers and are not from the city. The local government has temporarily suspended since three weeks ago the city’s public transport system to confine residents in their homes. (Photo courtesy of Cotabato CIO)
COTABATO CITY – Mayor Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi is set to file charges against violators of the city enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19), even as she urged mayors of neighboring towns to prevent its people from coming into the city without valid reason.
Sayadi supervised the checking of hundreds of quarantine passes of motorists plying Sinsuat Avenue here on Monday morning, many of whom came from neighboring towns and provinces.
She vowed to file charges against violators of both national and local laws on ECQ.
“Despite the enhanced quarantine against Covid-19, more people are on the streets, in their vehicles, many of them coming from adjacent areas,” she told reporters after inspecting the quarantine passes of motorists. “Many of them have no business coming over; they are not helping any in our efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.”
She said many of the non-residents were here not to buy medicine or food “but rather present reasons not covered by the executive order putting the city under strict quarantine.”
“To the town mayors of Maguindanao, please help prevent the spread of the disease by preventing your people to come here displaying quarantine passes that are supposedly recognized in their own localities only,” Guiani-Sayadi said.
She warned of filing appropriate charges against violators of a national order limiting people’s movement in the fight against the disease.
Sayadi said the city government will again issue a new set of color-coded quarantine passes with a specific time of effectivity.
She said one pass is valid only from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. with the cardholder allowed to have one alternate card user. Another pass is valid only from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. while the third from 3 p.m. to 7:59 p.m.
“These passes will only be used for marketing for food, buying medicine and other health essentials, food delivery is not a license to roam around by anyone, including law enforcers,” Sayadi said.
As of Monday, Cotabato City listed six Covid-19 positive patients but all have recovered. (PNA)
