PNP to coordinate with LGUs on travel requirements

FILE PHOTO: Tourists can again enjoy watching Boracay’s famed sunset, like in this photo taken on Saturday, June 5, 2021, after several businesses on the island have reopened, with over 2,000 tourists arriving from Metro Manila since June 1 after travel restrictions were lifted, giving hope to residents and business owners that they can soon recover from a prolonged economic slump. —JACK JARILLA

MANILA, Philippines — To avoid further confusion on what tourists are required to bring during their travels across the country, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday directed its officers to coordinate with local government units (LGUs) regarding documents that should be presented at quarantine control points.

This developed as the Department of Health on Wednesday said that COVID-19 tests may still be required for fully vaccinated tourists, despite an earlier announcement that vaccination cards would suffice.

“Sa gitna ng patuloy na pag-uusap tungkol sa patakaran na ipapatupad sa mga kababayan nating bakunado na, inatasan ko na ang ating mga police commanders na patuloy na ipatupad kung ano ang existing protocols na ipinalabas ng IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) upang maiwasan ang kalituhan sa panig ng ating mga kababayan,” said PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar.

(In the midst of ongoing discussion about the policy to be implemented among our vaccinated fellowmen, I have instructed our police commanders to continue to implement what existing protocols have been issued by the IATF to avoid confusion.)

“Kasabay ng utos na ito ay ang direktiba sa ating mga kapulisan na patuloy na makipag-ugnayan sa kanilang mga LGUs para malinaw ang kanilang gagampanan sa pagpapatupad ng mga protocol laban sa COVID-19,” he added.

(Concurrent with this mandate is the directive to our police to continue to liaise with their LGUs to clarify their role in implementing protocols against COVID-19.)

According to Eleazar, different government agencies and the IATF are still ironing out the policy.

Earlier, the IATF, in its Resolution 124-B, eased the rules on the interzonal travel of fully-vaccinated persons.

READ: IATF relaxes interzonal travel rules for fully-vaccinated persons

The resolution states that interzonal travelers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are now only required to present proof of complete COVID-19 vaccination instead of COVID-19 test results.

Consequently, several local tourist spots such as in Baguio and Davao have already allowed fully vaccinated tourists to enter without presenting a COVID-19 test result.

READ: Baguio now welcomes fully vaccinated tourists even without COVID-19 test results

READ: Davao City will allow entry of fully-vaccinated travelers without COVID-19 test results

Boracay, however, has announced that it will continue to require tourists to submit negative COVID-19 tests within 72 hours before their arrival until they could set up a system to validate vaccination cards.

READ: Boracay tourists still need to be tested for COVID-19, says Aklan guv

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