Travel authority, medical certificate no longer required for travel, says DILG
Travelers are no longer required to secure travel authority from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and medical certificate from the local government unit (LGU) health offices, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Sunday.
DILG said this is after the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) approved the harmonized national travel protocols for land, air, and sea recommended by the department.
Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said that the IATF resolution issued last Friday approved the streamlined travel protocols they crafted in coordination with PNP and LGU officials.
He said the new protocols are applicable to all LGUs across the country and the DILG enjoined all LGUs to comply with the new regulations issued by the IATF.
Malaya added COVID-19 testing will not be mandatory for domestic travelers except if the LGU of destination will require testing as a requirement prior to travel.
“If the LGU of destination requires a test, it shall only require a Reverse-Transcription - Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test and no other. Meaning, LGUs cannot require Antigen tests or rapid tests as test requirements prior to travel,” he said.
He advised all travelers to check with their LGU of destination before travelling to ensure a smooth trip.
Under the new protocols, no traveler shall be required to undergo facility-based quarantine unless they exhibit symptoms upon arrival at the LGU of destination.
“Therefore, the health assessment of passengers or travelers supervised by medical professionals shall be mandatory upon entry in the port/terminal and exit at point of destination,” Malaya said.
He said all LGUs, regardless if they require PCR tests or not, shall conduct clinical and exposure assessment at all points of entry and exit to ensure that only asymptomatic, non-close contact individuals are allowed to travel or move from one LGU to another.
With harmonize travel regulations, the DILG official said minimum public health standards which include physical distancing, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and wearing of face masks and face shields, among others, shall be strictly implemented by the PNP and local authorities.
Malaya said in line with the new developments, when it comes to communication technology services, the Safe, Swift, and Smart Passage (S-PaSS) Travel Management System of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) shall be institutionalized as the one-stop-shop application or communication for travelers.
“To complement the S-PaSS, we are also encouraging the public to install the mobile application StaySafe.ph. It shall be utilized as the primary contact tracing system,” he said
“The work of contact tracers of the DILG field offices and LGUs is complemented by technology. I urge travelers and the public, in general, to use the StaySafe.ph app in their mobile phones as our way of contributing to beating COVID-19 so we may smoothly transition to a safe new normal,” he added.
Last Saturday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said authorized persons outside of residence (APORS) from national government agencies and their attached agencies, on the other hand, must provide their identification card, travel order, and travel itinerary.
“They must likewise pass symptom-screening at the ports of entry and exit,” Roque said.
On ports and terminals, Roque said they must have sufficient quarantine or isolation facilities.
“All ports and terminals shall also have a referral system wherein symptomatic travelers shall be transferred to quarantine (or) isolation facilities to enable the Bureau of Quarantine for airports, or local health officials for LGUs, to take over,” he said.
“Further, all buses in Metro Manila bound for the provinces shall be required to use the Integrated Terminal Exchange as the central hub for transportation,” he added.
Roque said the LGU has the option to provide transportation for all travelers who are transiting from one LGU to another in cases of arrivals at air and seaports to their end-point destinations.
“The DILG, Department of Health (DOH), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Transportation (DOTr), DOST and the Philippine National Police (PNP), as well as the LGUs, shall ensure the smooth implementation of these protocols,” he said.
In a statement, DOT deems the simplification of requirements as vital in encouraging domestic travel and helping in the speedy recovery of Philippine tourism.
“The Department of Tourism is for the safe reopening of tourist destinations as this allows us to restart our economy and help our tourism workers regain their jobs,” it said.
“The Department therefore welcomes the approval of uniform travel protocols for all LGUs by the IATF-MEID to facilitate travel movement and promote local tourism,” it added. Ella Dionisio/DMS
