Cebu province’s relaxed travel protocols now part of local laws
The Cebu Provincial Board has passed an ordinance formalizing the easing of travel restrictions for inbound passengers for the province. |CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Without any objections, the Provincial Board on Monday, May 10, passed the provincial ordinance formalizing the easing of travel restrictions for all inbound travelers for Cebu province.
During its regular session on Monday, the legislative body of the Provincial government approved on first, second, and third reading the proposed ordinance penned by Cebu 3rd District Board Member John Ismael Borgonia.
“There is a need to ease the restrictions imposed upon persons intending to enter Cebu province,” said Borgonia.
The ordinance is titled Easing the Restrictions for Persons Entering the Province of Cebu in Observance of the IATF-MEID (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) Omnibus Guidelines as of January 21, 2022, and the IATF-MEID Resolution No. 98-A, Series of 2021 and Defining the Protocols to be Observed by Repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and Returning Non-OFWs Traveling to the Province of Cebu.
It was also certified as urgent by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
The new provincial ordinance, in effect, incorporated all prevailing protocols regarding the influx of travelers, both from domestic and overseas destinations, into local laws.
In particular, rules found under Garcia’s Executive Orders No. 9 and No. 17.
EO No. 9 removed negative RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) test results as part of the travel condition for local travelers.
They will only have to present medical certificates as proof that they are in good health to travel.
EO No. 17, on the other hand, did away with mandatory quarantine for returning Filipino travelers from abroad, and that they should be swabbed for COVID-19 upon arrival — not on the sixth day after they landed in Cebu.
Travelers with pending test results will have to stay in a designated hotel until they are confirmed to be COVID-free. Otherwise, they will be transported directly to isolation facilities for proper treatment.
Garcia earlier said travel restrictions only meant more financial burden to travelers.
/dbs
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