By Jhon Aldrin Casinas  Pasig City residents will no longer be required to present quarantine passes when they go out of their homes, Mayor Vico Sotto said, noting that the passes were “useless” because people will still have to be asked of their purpose for leaving their homes during the enhanced community quarantine. Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto
(KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU / MANILA BULLETIN) “We do not need quarantine passes within Pasig jurisdiction,” Sotto said. “Malinaw naman ang exemptions sa strict home quarantine (It is clear what were the exemptions on the strict home quarantine).” “Isa pa, useless ang one per household quarantine pass na valid para sa buong quarantine period, dahil tatanungin pa rin naman ng pulis o barangay kung ano ang purpose nila sa paglabas ng bahay (One more thing, the one per household quarantine pass, which is valid during the entire quarantine period, is useless because police officers and barangay officials will still have to ask people of their purpose for leaving their house),” he explained. Sotto made the announcement Sunday after clarifying the matter with the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and the Joint Task Force Coronavirus Shield (JTF CV Shield). In a text message to the Manila Bulletin, the city mayor said they were in the process of disseminating the information to barangay officials who already issued quarantine passes to their residents. On March 16, President Duterte placed the entire Luzon under an “enhanced community quarantine” for nearly a month following the continuous rise of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the country. The quarantine seeks to limit the movement of people to prevent the further spread of the disease. The national government has also released a set guidelines that the public should observe during the quarantine period such as staying home except for reasons of going to buy food and medical supplies. As part of their stringent measures against the spread of the disease, barangay officials in Metro Manila have issued quarantine passes to each household in their jurisdiction. The bearer of the pass is the only one allowed to go out. However, by requiring people to secure a quarantine pass, the Pasig mayor said that it would only add to the set of requirements that the public would have to follow. “‘Wag na natin dagdagan ng requirements. Magiging karagdagang person-to-person contact at waiting time lang ito imbis na makapunta ka ng mabilis sa tindahan, bumili ng pagkain, at umuwi na rin kaagad (Let us not add more requirements, This would only lead to more person-to-person contact and waiting time instead of going quickly to stores to buy food and return home immediately),” Sotto said. “Basta't gawin na lang natin simple. Kung hindi para sa trabaho, medikal, o para bumili ng pagkain/supplies, stay home (Let’s make things simple. If the reasons for going out were not for work, medical, or for buying food and supplies, stay home),” he added.