LPP seeks status quo on implementation of provincial travel requirements

The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) on Monday said it wanted to maintain medical clearance certification and travel authority for non-authorized persons outside residence (non-APOR) and locally stranded individuals (LSI)  requirements to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to the provinces.

Earlier, the government’s COVID-19 task force allowed travel between areas under a general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) regardless of purpose.

In a resolution, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases said the interzonal movement of non-APOR between GCQ and MGCQ areas for any purpose should be permitted, subject to the regulations imposed by the local government unit concerned.

In a statement, LPP president and Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco said provincial governments would continue to allow the entry of overseas Filipino workers and LSIs according to the latest resolution and guidelines of the IATF.

However, he said non-APORs and LSIs would still need to comply with the two basic requirements such as medical clearance certification (MCC) and travel authority (TA).

“The MCC is a minimal requirement to ensure that the individual is not infected while the TA is required for efficient scheduling of the entry and proper coordination with the receiving LGU,” Velasco said.

He also said the requirements for the entry of LSIs, whether considered as APORs or non-APORs, would either be maintained or would be subject to the “concurrence of the receiving LGUs” through prior communication with the focal persons of the concerned provincial and city governments.

“The LGUs’ concurrence is needed to ensure adequacy of the quarantine areas of the receiving LGUs if the local health protocols require mandatory 14-day quarantine,” he said.

Velasco added that receiving LGUs could also require LSIs to be subjected to swab tests upon entry provided the cost of the test is shouldered by the LGU.

Meanwhile, Joint Task Force COVID Shield chief Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar advised the public to first check on the regulations of the LGU they are heading to before traveling.  — DVM, GMA News