The inter-agency task force in charge of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in the country has allowed domestic flights to resume in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ), according to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on Tuesday.
BREAKING NEWS: Domestic commercial aviation sa pagitan ng GCQ areas, pinapahintulutan na ng IATF, ayon kay @DOTrPH Sec. Arthur Tugade. Kailangan lang umano na ito ay aprubado ng lokal na pamahalaan. pic.twitter.com/kHjtG9c6D4
— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) June 2, 2020
Interviewed on Unang Balita, Tugade said this, however, should have the approval from concerned local government units (LGUs).
“Kagabi po 'yung Inter-Agency Task Force, ‘yung ating chief implementer, si Secretary [Carlito] Galvez, nag-issue na ng kasulatan at kautusan na kung saan ang sinasabi po niya allowed na ang domestic commercial aviation,” Tugade said.
“Ang kailangan ho dito aprubado lang ng [local] government,” he added.
DOTr Assistant Secretary for Planning and Project Development Giovanni Lopez said some local government units are refusing to accept domestic flights.
Due to this, he said the DOTr and National Task Force against COVID-19 decided to allow domestic flights only in areas with the approval of local governments for the meantime.
“Nagkaroon lang po ng kaunting isyu pagdating sa ating mga lokal na pamahaalaan. May agam-agam sila na tumanggap ng domestic flights,” Lopez said in an interview onUnang Balita.
“Nagpulong po ang DOTr at ang NTF. Napagdesisyunan po na uunahin na lang natin ang mga lokal na pamahalaan na gusto at handang tumanggap ng domestic flight,” he added.
Earlier, the Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia said they would gradually resume operations this month after the government announced further easing of community quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila and several parts of the country.
Metro Manila shifted from modified enhanced community quarantine to a less stringent general community quarantine on Monday.
Under GCQ, the road, rail, maritime and aviation sectors of public transportation are allowed to operate at a reduced operational and vehicle capacity provided that social distancing is observed. --KBK, GMA News