By Argyll Cyrus Geducos After being stranded in Manila for two months due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, President Duterte returned to Davao City past midnight Saturday despite the ban on non-essential travel. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
(ACE MORANDANTE/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO/ MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Presidential spokesman Harry Roque confirmed in a text message Saturday afternoon that Duterte was already in Davao City. He did not provide additional details. Presidential Security Group (PSG) commander Col. Jesus Durante III likewise confirmed Duterte's travel but assured that the President will be attending the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases scheduled on Tuesday. "Yes. He is in Davao for a visit after more than two months of not being able to see his family. He will be back for the next IATF meeting," he said. Meanwhile, in an interview over Super Radyo DZBB, Roque, knowing that Duterte's travel will be an issue, said the President's travel was not just for leisure but also to check on the situation in Mindanao after 67 days of being stranded in Malacañang. Non-essential travel is prohibited under all quarantine zones. "Alam ko magiging issue ito pero 'wag nating kalimutan na ang ginawa naman ng ating Presidente na pagpunta sa Davao, hindi lang pagbisita after 67 days kung hindi Presidente rin siya (I know this will be an issue but let's not forget that his travel to Davao is not just a visit but he's also a President)," he said. "Kinakailangan naman niya malaman kung ano nangyayari sa Mindanao dahil ang buong Mindanao ngayon po ay bumabalik na sa normal. So hindi mo naman maaalis sa katungkulan ng Presidente 'yan (He also needs to know the situation in Mindanao since the entire island is going back to normal. You cannot deprive the President of that)," he added. "Pero yung mga leisure po, yung tipong mga bibisita sa ating mga kamag-anak bake, kung pupwede po maiwasan muna po 'yan kasi wala pa talagang ganyang pahintulot ang IATF. Nililimitahan pa rin natin sa essential travel (But for leisure travels, like visiting your relatives, maybe we can postpone that for now because that is really not permitted by the IATF. We are limiting it to essential travel)," he continued. Under the omnibus guidelines of the IATF released Saturday morning, "Land, air, or sea travel by uniformed personnel, government officials, and employees for official business with the corresponding travel authority and authorized HAAs, especially those transporting medical supplies and laboratory specimens related to COVID-19, and other relief and humanitarian assistance, shall be allowed." Duterte made his trip after Typhoon Ambo ravaged Luzon and left at least one dead in Quezon after initially making landfall in Eastern Samar. This was the first time Duterte returned to his hometown after the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on March 16. He even spent his birthday inside Malacañang on March 28. Chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo earlier said in March that President Duterte thumbed down his common-law wife Honeylet Avanceña's request for him to fly back to Davao City. "He said, 'No," said Panelo during an interview with ANC. "'The face of the country is Manila and the President has to be here so I’ll be here,'" he recounted the President saying. Since the start of the lockdown, President Duterte has expressed his frustration over wanting to go home to Davao, empathizing with the people's desire to go out of their houses. He, however, urged the public to follow quarantine protocols to not aggravate the situation.