THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) yesterday said people planning on doing inter-zonal trips still needs to have a travel pass when crossing borders, even if community quarantine classifications of most provinces in the country have been eased.
“There is no change in the rule on the movement between GCQ (genera community quarantine) and MGCQ (modified general community quarantine) areas,” Interior Undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya said during the Laging Handa public forum.
Malaya made the statement a couple of days after President Duterte approved a 30-day GCQ classification in NCR, Batangas, Bulacan and the cities of Tacloban and Bacolod.
Iligan City in Mindanao is under the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), while the rest of the provinces are under the least strict modified GCQ.
Malaya said the travel pass is required for cross-border travels because COVID-19 continues to be transmitted in community levels “due to movement of people from the hot zones to the low risk areas.”
“It’s not yet lifted. Inter-zonal movement, as mentioned, continues to be governed by the old guidelines. So travel authority is still needed,” he said
A travel pass or authority is issued by the local police once applicants who wish to travel from one LGU to another secure a medical certificate from their LGU of origin stating that they are not afflicted with the coronavirus and have undergone quarantine.
Joint Task Force COVID Shield chief Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar earlier said those listed under the government’s Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOR) need not secure the travel pass if their travel is work-related. APOR includes frontliners, including medical workers, and workers of industries that are already permitted to operate.
As to the operation of provincial buses, Malaya said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is still discussing the issue.
“There is still no final decision because studies from other countries show transportation is one of the fastest ways to spread COVID-19,” he said.