Duterte approves nationwide adoption of Alert Level System amid COVID-19 pandemic

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday approved the nationwide implementation of the Alert Level System for determining restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Duterte issued Executive Order 151 after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) recommended the nationwide adoption of the system on October 28.

The system limits lockdowns only in areas with high COVID-19 community transmission. 

"The nationwide shift to the Alert Level System would allow for the reinvigoration of the economy through the opening of more sectors while protecting the people's health through the continuous observance of public health protocols and interventions and the heightened implementation of lockdowns in smaller areas, also known as granular lockdowns," the EO read.

Under EO 151, the new Alert Level System now in effect in NCR, Region 3, 4A, 6, 7, 10 and 11 will be gradually implemented in Regions 2, 8 and 12 for Phase 2; Regions 2, 5 and 9 for Phase 3; and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Region 4B, Region 13, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for Phase 4.

"The shift to Phase 2 may begin at any time after the effectivity of this Order, as may be determined by the IATF, but not later than the end of November 2021," the EO read.

"The succeeding phases shall then commence every week thereafter until full nationwide implementation," it added.

Under IATF guidelines, alert level systems will cover entire cities or municipalities, which will manage and minimize spread of infections.

Each city or municipality will be classified from Alert Level 1 to Alert Level 5. It is the Department of Health that assigns the alert level.

"The IATF is hereby authorized to amend or modify such guidelines as may be necessary to achieve the objectives of the Alert Level System, without need of further approval of the President," the EO stated. 

[Click here to determine what's allowed and not allowed under different alert levels.] —KBK/VBL, GMA News