EO on travelers in Mandaue still in effect; new policy of IATF not yet enforced

Lawyer Lizer Malate, Mandaue City’s Vaccination Operations Center head, says the city government is not yet implementing the new IATF policy on interzonal travel. | Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — Mandaue City had yet to adopt the newest resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID or IATF), where fully vaccinated individuals would no longer need to present a negative RT-PCR test if they would travel to other cities and provinces in the Philippines.

Lawyer Lizer Malate, head of the Mandaue City Vaccination Operations Center, said the IATF’s move was a good policy as it could convince more people to get vaccinated.

However, Malate, said as of now, the city had yet to adopt the resolution as they were still inclined to wait for the policies of the provincial government and cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu.

He said that this was so that Mandaue City could synchronized policy with them.

“Kay kinahanglan’g magkahiusa ta ani kay otherwise naay daghan paagi nga mabypass, so we have to be one in any policy we will be issuing,” said Malate. 

(It is necessary to be united in this because they are many ways to bypass, so we have to one in any policy we will be issuing.)

Malate said the IATF resolution would also be better if local government units would have local policy through an executive order by the Mayor. 

“Dili na siya nga pwede nga i-implementar dayun no kay the guidelines of the national government ana nga policy will still be subject to kanang atoang actual nga challenges sa ground,” he said.

(We can’t implement that right away because the guidelines of the national government on that policy will be subject on the actual challenges on the ground.)

“Just imagine if i-follow dayun na nato niya wala ta magprepare  or wala ta masynchronize, ma confuse niya sila or they will just opt to go to Mandaue kay wala nay testing instead nga muadto sila sa Cebu. Mao nang mga adjacent ra man gyud ning mga siyudad dali ra ilabang-ilabang, but again that’s really a good incentive para mas makaimbitar ta ug maka pasabot nganong importante nga magpabakuna, ” said Malate. 

(Just imagine if we follow that right away and we are not prepared or we are not synchronized, then they will be confused or they just opt to go to Mandaue because there is no more testing instead of them going to Cebu. Our cities are adjacent and it is easier to cross borders, but again that is really a good incentive s that we can invite and make them understand the importance of being vaccinated.)

Malate said for now, the Executive Order No. 19 series of 2021 of Mayor Jonas Cortes would still be effective.

The EO requires all travellers coming from the provinces of Bohol, Negros Occidental, and Negros Oriental that will visit the city to present a negative RT-PCR swab test result taken within 72 hours or a negative Rapid Antigen test results taken 48 hours before departure from their place of origin.

In the EO, the policy that took effect last June 15 will end on July 24.

According to the IATF Resolution 124-B, Interzonal travel is the movement of people, goods and services across areas placed under different community quarantine classifications while Intrazonal travel is the movement of people, goods and services between localities under the same community quarantine classification.

Currently, Bohol province is under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), Negros Occidental is under GCQ while Negros Oriental is under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).

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