The public is now reportedly confused as the national government lifted the travel restrictions while mandating local officials to strictly enforce the quarantine measures against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
As a result, some people are blaming the lifting of travel restrictions as the reason behind the surge of COVID-19 cases in some parts of the country.
Despite the concerns raised, a Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) official insisted that the removal of the travel requirements as mandated in DILG Resolution 101 was scrutinized thoroughly by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) before its enforcement on March 1 to balance the need to reopen the economy and contain the spread of the coronavirus.
In a briefing on Tuesday, March 9, Malaya also stressed that the COVID-19 cases in the country remain under control amid allegations that the spike in new cases was brought by the lifting of travel restrictions.
He explained the urgency to open the economy even in the midst of the pandemic as requested by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) after the country lost P1 trillion in income last year. The huge income loss created massive poverty and hunger since the lockdown was first imposed in Luzon on March 13, 2020.
Last week, the DILG tasked the Local Government Units and the Philippine National Police to strictly enforce the quarantine rules amid the surge in the COVD-19 cases in the past days.
However, Malaya clarified that the Department of Health (DOH) may recommend the re-imposition of the travel requirements to the IATF if it sees a major upswing in the COVID-19 cases in the country.
Under this circumstance, Malaya said that the DILG will immediately implement the IATF order in case it approves the DOH’s request.
Based on the IATF resolution, Malaya said that even with the removal of travel authority and local health clearance as requirements, the LGUs were given the power to require Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing for travellers which has a validity of three days.
To avoid inconvenience, Malaya said that travellers should practice “due diligence’’ by inquiring with the LGU officials of their destination if RT-PCR testing is still required. He said that the DILG will soon issue a memorandum circular to all the LGUs to determine the list of localities that require RT-PCR for travellers.