Cebu sticks with EO on foreign arrivals, Gwen hits on IATF again

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia presenting IATF Resolution No. 160-D, pointing out that she has not defied and merely complied with the task force’s policies when she issued EO No. 3-2022 for foreign arrivals. CDN Digital Photo |  Morexette Marie Erram

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu will still implement its policies on foreign arrivals despite concerns raised by the national government.

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, clarified that she is merely following the protocols on foreign arrivals which were laid down by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF). 

“I have acted accordingly… I’m not the one allowing unvaccinated tourists into the Philippines. It’s the IATF,” said Garcia in an interview on Wednesday, February 16.

The governor pointed to a provision on IATF Resolutions No. 160-B and D that allows the entry of unvaccinated travelers under several conditions. 

She was referring to Section C, No. 4 in Resolution No. 160-D which reads, “Foreign nationals who are found not compliant with the condition set forth in Section A(3) above shall be required to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test taken on the fifth (5th) day. After which, they shall be required to undergo home quarantine until their fourteenth (14th) day, with the date of arrival being their first day. The local government units of destination and their respective Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams are tasked to monitor those arriving passengers undergoing home quarantine.” 

“Hello? The IATF has been allowing unvaccinated travelers with their own resolution only that it has been qualified. If you are unvaccinated, then you have to be quarantined for five days so it’s not me that is allowing. It’s the IATF. That’s the trouble of not reading and not studying,” Garcia added.

Earlier, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) called the attention of the Cebu Provincial Government over Garcia’s Executive Order (EO) No. 3-2022.

Together with the Department of Health (DOH), the DILG insisted that Cebu must comply with the national government’s guidelines on accepting foreign tourists. 

The Capitol’s newest EO allows the entry of unvaccinated tourists via the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA). 

However, they will have to undergo the mandatory, facility-based quarantine, and at least two rounds of swab tests, which was what the IATF required based on their recent resolutions. 

They will only be released when they test negative on their fifth day of quarantine. 

Meanwhile, Garcia said she is still waiting for an official invitation from the DILG on the latter’s proposal to hold dialogues with the province. 

“I already said that I’m open… but I’m still waiting. Kanus-a man sila? Wala. That’s one thing to say, it’s another thing to act,” she said.

/bmjo 

RELATED STORIES

Gwen open to dialogue with nat’l gov’t on Cebu policies in foreign arrivals 

Cebu to accept unvaxed tourists but…