The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has advised all Cordillera local government units (LGUs) to comply with new domestic travel guidelines as the country eases up with COVID-19 restrictions for travelers.
“We are calling on local chief executives (LCEs) to urge their constituents in the region to utilize S-PASS (Safe, Swift, and Smart Passage), as main portal where their respective acceptable travel requirements can be accessed easily,” said Araceli San Jose, Regional Director of DILG Cordillera.
She also encouraged travelers to use the One Health Pass for easy and seamless movement from departure from their origin to arrival at the LGU of their destination, which acknowledges that the incoming traveler has a negative 48-hour RTPCR and Vaxcard/Vaxcert.
RD San Jose also stressed that intrazonal travel by locals from one LGU to another with the same or lower Alert level status may no longer require a negative RT-PCR result.
“Local and international travelers will no longer be required to show their negative RT-PCR results, but they must present their vaccination cards or certificates when they arrive at their destinations,” she explained.
RD San Jose added that tourist destinations also provide isolation facilities in cases where tourists test positive for visible symptoms. Facilities may be made available per tourist destination or as a shared area/facility agreed upon by neighboring tourist destinations
It can be recalled that the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force passed Resolutions No. 159, 160-A and 160-B which details that arriving fully vaccinated international and Filipino nationals must present a negative RT-PCR test taken 48 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.
Travelers are also no longer required to observe mandatory facility-based quarantine, but must self-monitor for any sign of symptom for seven days, with the first day being the date of arrival, and must report to the local government unit (LGU) of destination if symptoms manifest.
International arriving travelers are also required to present their COVID-19 vaccination card, as defined by IATF regulations. (Pamela Geminiano)
