Among the three largest islands of the archipelagic Philippines, Mindanao is by far the least affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with only 572 confirmed infections as of June 1, the first day of the implementation of the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
Since the country was placed under different stages of community quarantine in March, the cities of Davao and Zamboanga were the hardest hit. As of May 31, Davao City has 253 of Davao Region’s 279 COVID-19 cases. It is followed by Zamboanga City with 122 infections in 157 COVID-19 incidents in the region.
All the rest of the regions in Mindanao have 34 or below COVID-19 infections.
Caraga Region has so far the fewest reported with only 5 COVID-19 cases, which are also the lowest nationwide.
More importantly, Mindanao has the lowest number of deaths among the three main islands in the country with only 42 people succumbing to COVID-19. Twenty-five (25) of these deaths in Mindanao were also in Davao City.
Mindanao probably escaped widespread infection when President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire Luzon under community quarantine, cutting off air, and sea travel to and from Metro Manila.
A week later, the president placed the entire country under the state of national emergency and imposed an enhanced community quarantine measure as infection began to spread rapidly and exponentially. All domestic flights were also suspended.
In the ensuing weeks, the number of COVID infections began to mount in select regions particularly in Metro Manila and nearby Region 4-A or CALABARZON (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon corridor) and Region 3 (Central Luzon).
It was not until early April that the infection began to show signs it has jumped to two other main islands in the archipelago.
First to register alarming increase in the number of infection was Davao City which ground zero of incidence was believed to have been at the Matina Galleria, home to cockfight aficionados.
On April 11, there were 87 confirmed COVID cases in the Davao Region, of which 71 are in Davao City.
On the same date, in Central Visayas, there were only 38 confirmed COVID incidents with Cebu City accounting for 21 of these.
By May 25, or 45 days later, the trend in both Cebu City and Davao has reversed with Cebu City accounting for 1,620 cases of Central Visayas’ 2,157 confirmed COVID-19 incidents. In contrast, Davao City has 230 of the 252 cases in the Davao region (Region 11) on the same date.
Cebu’s positive cases as of May 25 made a hefty 7,714% increase while in Davao City, it was 324 percent.
On the same date, the number of residents in the national capital region (Metro Manila) had 2,440 cases. As of May 27, however, the number has risen to 9,481 for a 389 percent increase, slightly higher than Cebu’s 324 percent.
Back in Mindanao, the number of positive COVID cases as of May 27 was at 465. The number of COVID-19 incidents did not reach 100, however, until April 2 which stood at 103.
As of June 1, however, Mindanao’s COVID cases account for only 3% of total positive cases in the country despite having 24 percent of the population of the Philippines. The percentage of COVID testing is likewise very low at only 3% of the country’s total unique tests.
Virtually all regions in Mindanao has flattened their numbers in terms of number of incidence and number of deaths with CARAGA region having the least number of COVID incidence at 5 followed by BARMM with 21, Soccsksargen with 34 and Northern Mindanao with 31.
Responses from local government units have so far kept the COVID numbers manageable and below national average in Mindanao despite the higher numbers in Davao City and Zamboanga, both of each has a confirmed ground zero from which local transmissions probably began.
The incident at the Matina cockpit galleria was largely blamed for the rise in COVID infection in early April and has accounted to at least 49 of all COVID cases in Mindanao while the majority of incidents in Zamboanga were traced to its overcrowded city jail.
“The ‘Araw ng Davao celebration 6-Cock Derby,’ which had a prize pot of 26 million pesos, 17 million of that for the champion, started March 7 and was ordered suspended by Mayor Sara Duterte on its third elimination round evening of March 12. The final round would have been on March 14,” according to Mindanews.
Mindanao responds
On record, the first local government unit to officially recognize and respond to the then emerging national health crisis was General Santos City which local legislative body passed a resolution declaring a state of calamity as early as February 4. The resolution likewise authorized the city mayor to release P10 million from its calamity fund. On that date, the total COVID cases in the country was just 3, none of them locally transmitted. The resolution likewise predated the declaration of national health emergency by more than a month.
When the airport in Metro Manila was ordered close effective March 15, some airlines made Clark International Airport as alternative departure and arrival area.
Davao City Mayor Sara ‘Inday’ Duterte however publicly announced her disapproval and stated she will not allow landings of commercial flights in Davao City which was followed by Cebu governor’s own declaration to ban incoming flights to Cebu. Although both local executives do not have the authority to prevent airport authorities from operating and calling in incoming flights, their stand reflected the prevailing sentiments of local government executives.
A few days later, her father announced the suspension of all domestic, commercial and passenger, flights as the outbreak continued to spread.
When President Duterte further upgraded the national emergency status, Davao and Zamboanga were the only cities in Mindanao included in the much stricter enhanced community quarantine, allowing for a lockdown as an extreme measure.
Mindanaoans generally supported the first month of the quarantine period, with some advocating even more extreme measures.
However, it was General Santos City which first adopted a total lockdown policy that began on April 5 when its first confirmed COVID positive case was announced days earlier. The one day April 5 lockdown, a Sunday, has since been followed by a three-day lockdown the following week in observance of the Holy Week. Since then, the city has been implementing total lockdown Sundays when even public markets and mall groceries are ordered closed. Nobody is allowed to go outside except frontliners and essential workers.
General Santos was also the first LGU to implement the clustering measures to limit the movement of its residents in an effort to prevent the spread of the disease in addition to the odd-even scheme for vehicular traffic.
All or some of these measures were adopted and copied by other cities and provinces in Mindanao.
Cagayan de Oro City however has never implemented a Sunday total lockdown while Davao City has selective lockdowns in several areas after outbreak occurrence in several barangays and also went on clustering several districts. In addition, Davao City adopted an odd-even home quarantine pass policy for marketing days as well as clustering by geographical districts.
Caraga region, which has the country’s fewest COVID infection likewise has not tried totally locking down communities but instead stepped up border checkpoints.
At one point, some LGUs demanded that travellers in and out of the city secure X-rays to go along with medical certificates. Some went on to detain travellers and kept them in holding areas for days until LGUs from where these travellers come and fetch – rescue – them, as in the case of Sarangani.
Mindanao local chief executives unanimously agreed to a curfew that very few residents challenged.
Meanwhile, the rising number of COVID cases in Davao City has prompted the DoH to set up testing facilities at the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao. This was followed by the opening of a modular COVID testing center in Zamboanga City. With the opening of another in Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato City and an addition in Zamboanga City, there are now 5 operational testing centers in Mindanao. Next week, another modular set will arrive in General Santos City and South Cotabato.
In the meantime, many LGUs are reluctant to ease on the restrictions that they contend help them prevent widespread COVID 19 contamination.
All provincial governors and city mayors in Region 12, for one, have unanimously approved a resolution extending the GCQ level twice already, the latest was May 26 during the RIATF meeting. The latest Region 12 IATF would have lasted until July 31.
None of the Mindanao’s RIATF passed a similar resolution for same duration.
In Davao City, Mayor Inday Duterte has made known her frustration over the refusal of several governors and mayors that surround the borders of the city to allow travel from and to Davao City following the downgrading of their emergency status from ECQ to GCQ. Provinces surrounding the city and the others in the Davao region still ban non-essential border crossings.
Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno has insisted on following the guidelines laid down by the IATF and has allowed travel in and out of the city for those with legitimate business and work.
Bukidon however has imposed a province wide curfew and is limiting border crossing to essential workers. At one point Bukidnon, along with Davao de Oro ban the sale of the staple food rice to buyers outside of their provinces but were quickly rebuffed by the Inter Agency Task Force.
