DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio barred all government employees, including barangay officials, from joining any out-of-town political activities prodding her to run this 2022 election.
Duterte-Carpio issued Executive Order (EO) 17 or "an order prohibiting all government personnel including barangay officials to join any political activities for Sara Duterte outside of Davao City."
"All government personnel, including barangay officials, are prohibited to join any political activity for Sara Duterte outside of Davao City. Activity shall mean to include caravan, meeting, rally, parade, program and all other forms of gathering," Section 1 of the EO states.
The mayor reasoned that traveling for non-essential reasons, including caravan, is banned "because of the danger it poses to the health of the traveler."
She added that traveling in areas with high Covid-19 cases poses great possibility that they will be infected.
"Non-essential travel for political activities gathers people together which increases the risk of transmission," Duterte-Carpio.
She said "government personnel should focus on the Response, Vaccination and Recovery action plan of Davao City for the Covid-19 pandemic."
In an interview with 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio, the mayor said the EO does not have corresponding fines or penalties as it is only an executive order, and that only the 19th City Council can impose penalties.
But she said those who will insist to join and travel outside Davao will be required to be quarantined at the city's facility upon arrival, unlike the regular air passengers who will no longer be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine.
She also said her order is only limited to the members of the "Run, Sara, Run" conveners while those from other political parties will not be prevented.
"Kung ang isa ka tao naa siya (But if you have a) political activity [nga] totally unrelated sa tao na si (that is totally unrelated or affiliated to) Sara Duterte, you have the freedom to do so," Duterte-Carpio said.
The mayor said a total of 43 individuals, including city barangay officials, who participated in the nationwide campaign, already arrived in the city.
She said they are currently under quarantine at the city's facility and they are already scheduled for a swab test.
The mayor said another batch of caravan participants composed of 20 individuals are also set to arrive in the city.
In a previous report, prior to their flight to Metro Manila on March 17, the mayor said she met with them and discouraged them from joining in the caravan due to the rising Covid-19 cases in the area.
Despite her reminder and appeal, she said the officials still continued with their planned activity.
Duterte-Carpio had been distancing from the calls for her to run for the presidency and even barred her supporters in the city from staging motorcades and ordered for the removal of tarpaulins, posters, and billboards with the text "Run, Sara, Run" in the city.
Despite this, she expressed gratitude to those who are calling on her to run for the presidency in the 2022 elections.
