Travel of individuals classified as “non-APOR” (allowed persons outside residence) from general community quarantine (GCQ) to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) areas for “visits or other leisure purposes’’ will be allowed in some areas, said Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya Saturday.
In a news briefing, Malaya said that this will be allowed in certain areas subject to the “reasonable regulations’’ of the concerned local government units (LGUs).
Under Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Resolution 79, Malaya explained that trips between GCQ and MGCQ areas for whatever reasons are allowed.
However, Malaya stressed that it is advisable to wait for the announcement of the DILG and Joint Task Force COVID-19 Shield on what transpired in their consultation meeting Saturday with the LGUs to avoid confusion and the waste of time.
He noted the announcement will list down the areas that need and do not require “travel authority’’ for the visit.
Starting Oct. 21 as approved by the IATF, Malaya said that overseas travel will be allowed regardless of purpose with no need to secure an exemption from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
However, Malaya said the traveler stills needs a valid visa to the country of destination, confirmed round trip ticket, health insurance, need to sign a Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) declaration at the check-in counter to acknowledge the risk involved in the travel, and have a negative antigen test result 24 hours before the departure which will be facilitated by the airline.
Also during the briefing, Malaya also said that as of Oct. 15, the last omnibus guidelines established the “new normal category’’ which refers to the post community quarantine scenario.
He added that this pertains to an area where no community quarantine is in place and can be considered as under “new normal category.’’
With no complete data yet, Malaya said what is mandatory is for the public to follow the minimum health standards.