The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) and other key agencies have signed a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) that aims to streamline the processes and requirements in relation to local travel amid the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
JMC No. 1, Series of 2022 or the Streamlining of Requirements and Process for Local Travel, signed on January 19, also aims to make contact tracing more efficient amid the pandemic.
Through the new issuance, the use of S-PaSS will be institutionalized as the one-stop-shop application and communication for travelers.
The S-PaSS is a travel management system developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) primarily to make traveling "Safe, Swift, and Smart" for Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs), Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs) Emergency Travelers (ETs), and other travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
All local government units will be required to onboard in the S-PaSS or integrate their existing travel management applications to the system where they will facilitate travel permits.
All implemented information systems in the COVID-19 response network for contact tracing and issuance of necessary permits or certifications required for travel shall also be made interconnected and/or interoperable.
This includes the S-PaSS, StaySafe PH, VaxCertPH, COVID Document Repository System (CDRS), Traze App, and One Health Pass, among others.
The use of the S-PaSS will effectively streamline requirements and processes for travel permits as travelers will also no longer need to download multiple contact tracing applications and register multiple times because a single account will work across the country, regardless of the application used.
The JMC also states that travelers should only comply with the requirements of their point of destination. All LGUs that will be passed through shall honor the travel permit given by the point of destination LGUs provided that they will only pass through the said localities and will not stay for longer than eight hours.
The processing time to approve or disapprove an application shall not exceed 24 hours. LGUs are mandated to act on the applications submitted through the S-PaSS every day of the week, including weekends.
Should the LGUs fail to approve or disapprove an application for a travel pass or permit within 24 hours, the application will be deemed automatically approved, provided that the applicant submitted complete requirements in the S-PaSS.
All LGUs are mandated to set up a Traveler Help Desk with a working local hotline, preferably a mobile number, to further assist the public.
An Oversight Committee on Local Travel will also be formed.
Other signatory agencies of the JMC include the DOST, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Transportation (DOTr), and Department of Health (DOH).
According to ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica, the newly signed issuance would pave the way in rebooting tourism in the Philippines, provide employment, and encourage a safe, swift, and smart travel experience for Filipinos after the pandemic.
"We are continuing to fulfill our mandate of streamlining and reengineering government processes by empowering agencies, local government units, private stakeholders, and the general public through our various programs and services," he said.
"We also perform our enforcement function by filing cases, conducting investigations, and even entrapping those who insist on continuing with the previous method, which is excessive bureaucratic red tape," he added.
The JMC stemmed from complaints that ARTA received from different stakeholders on the different and repetitive requirements that travelers have to submit when traveling from one place to another in the country.