Baguio City, Benguet towns to impose border restrictions for a 3rd time
BAGUIO CITY – For the third time, local chief executives of Baguio City, and La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay towns, or BLISTT, have agreed to limit the travel to and in between their respective areas to work and official business, and access to essential goods and services only from January 10 to 24.
The local officials agreed to impose the border restrictions anew to arrest the surge in the incidence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in their localities.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, La Trinidad Mayor Romeo Salda, Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan, Sablan Mayor Manuel Munar, Tuba Mayor Clarita Sal-ongan and Tublay Mayor Armando Lauro signed the Joint Advisory and gave the green light for the re-imposition of the border restrictions.
The measure will be again implemented following the marked increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Benguet province on Friday, January 8, with 78 new cases, 18 of which were recorded in La Trinidad; 11 in Tuba, seven in Itogon, three in Tublay, one in Sablan, while the remaining came from Mankayan (25), Kapangan (10), Atok (2), and Buguias (1).
Baguio City also recorded 40 new cases and another fatality on Friday.
Travel requirements and procedures would be similar to the previous border limitations imposed last December 16 to December 22.
During the period at the border checkpoints, everyone is expected to present valid government issued IDs as proof of residence, together with health declaration forms.
Health workers, uniformed personnel, members of the city/provincial/municipal COVID-19 contact tracing teams, members of the city/provincial/municipal COVID-19 task force and the personnel in local government unit (LGU) and agency offices will still be exempted from checkpoints requirements and the cargo and logistic services, and service providers for water, electricity, telecommunications, ICT and waste management utilities shall continue to be given unhampered passage through the checkpoints.
Non-resident travelers entering La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay from other regions and provinces must present their Travel Authority/Permit and Medical Certificate issued in their place of origin.
For those entering Baguio, the processes provided in https://hdf.baguio.gov.ph/ for essential travels and returning residents shall apply; and https://visita.baguio.gov.ph/ for tourists.
The BLISTT mayors have urged everyone to continue to limit their movement and activities, and prioritize the health and safety, especially of senior citizens, children and immunocompromised constituents.