DILG: Quarantine passes are city government’s prerogative

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Cebu City officer-in-charge, Lawyer Kenneth Lucero, said that the city is given a free-hand in distributing the quarantine passes.

Lucero said that since the city has declared an enhanced community quarantine, it is tasked to regulate the mobility within the city. The DILG only mandates that this regulations be in order, but the specific paramaters are set by the city government itself.

“Ang purpose ani is to limit the movement na sa tawo nato, so iregulate nila (city government. Mao na mohatag silag passes by household,” said Lucero.

(The purpose is to limit the movement of our people, so they [city government] have to regulate. That is why they give out passes by households.)

“But as regards to specifics, system, how to get the pass, who are qualified, who will issue, ilaha (city government) na na,” he added. (But with regards to the specifics, systems, how to get the pass, who are qualified, who will issue, it is their [city government] prerogative.)

Lucero said the city is encouraged to be creative when distributing the quarantine passes. He also clarified that DILG did not prohibit the LGUs to choose who will be the signatory of the quarantine passes, its design, and its issuance.

The particulars of these will be up to the city government. This he said following confusion in the barangays regarding the distribution, design, and issuance of the quarantine passes. He urged the public to wait for the city government’s guidelines. /rcg