The Tourism department welcomed the eased travel movement between General Community Quarantine (GCQ) and Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) areas to revive the domestic tourism economy.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EIMD) issued Resolution No. 79 dated Oct. 15 providing a more liberal interzonal and intrazonal movement of persons traveling between destinations under GCQ and MGCQ.
It states that “the interzonal movement of non-authorized persons outside residences (non-APOR) between areas placed under GCQ and MGCQ for any purpose shall be permitted subject to the reasonable regulations imposed by the local government unit (LGU) concerned, if any, and which should be submitted to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), or in the case of Boracay Island, subject to those imposed by the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF).”
During the 79th meeting of the national government’s COVID-19 task force, the body also approved the recommendation to gradually expand the age group allowing individuals from 15- to 65-years-old to go out of their residence, easing the quarantine age restrictions from the original 21- to 60-years-old.
“These new policies, approved by the IATF, support the Department’s programs aimed at rebuilding the tourism industry to bring back lost jobs and livelihoods and stir local economies,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.
She noted that the amended guidelines will empower LGUs to responsibly reopen their destinations to more areas outside their province or region with the minimum health and safety measures in place.
The move will also complement the DoT’s strategy to develop tourism circuits and travel corridors, such as the Ridge and Reef Corridor Plan between Baguio City and the provinces of Region 1, to help revive tourism under the new normal.