GWEN OPENS BORDERS TO CEBU CITY RESIDENTS

FEWER PAPERS NEEDED FOR CROSSING

Cebu City-bound travelers must present company ID or proof of occupation if they are workers while those seeking medical attention must present medical certificate, written approval of mayor of LGU where their residence is located at border checkpoints Persons not covered by Executive Order 17-D must secure written approval from mayor of local government unit where their residence is located if they are going to Cebu City, travel authority from Provincial Government if they are going to province

WITH the entire Cebu Province on general community quarantine, its residents, especially those working in Metro Cebu, can once again cross borders without having to present many documents.

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia signed Executive Order (EO) 17-D ordering local government units (LGUs) under the Province’s jurisdiction to open their borders on Wednesday, June 3.

Workers can exit and enter their towns or component cities by presenting their identification card (ID) or their certificate of employment at border checkpoints. If they are entering Cebu City, they must present one of these requirements at border checkpoints in Talisay City in the south, Mandaue City in the north and Balamban in the west.

Workers from the south can enter Cebu City through the Cebu South Coastal Road and N. Bacalso Ave. in Barangay Bulacao, which was opened to motorists at dawn Tuesday, June 2.

Executive Order 17-D

Under EO 17-D, the following are allowed to cross borders:

• Health and emergency frontline service personnel (their PRC license, official ID, hospital ID, or any other proof of their occupation shall be presented at checkpoints);

• Government officials and government frontline personnel (only the official ID of their office shall be presented at checkpoints);

• Persons traveling for medical or humanitarian reasons (a certificate from the local chief executive of the LGU having jurisdiction over his or her residence as well as a medical certificate shall be presented at checkpoints);

• Persons allowed to travel abroad who need to get to the airport (confirmed airplane tickets shall be presented at check have points);

• Other persons transported through the efforts of the national government upon the observance of the necessary quarantine protocols and with the concurrence of the receiving LGU;

• Persons who cross zones for work permitted in the zone of destination, including going back home (they shall present their company ID and certificate of employment);

• Owners of business establishments permitted to operate in the zone of destination, including going back home (proof of business ownership shall be presented at checkpoints);

• Other professionals in permitted professions (proof of their profession and a document reflecting the purpose of their travel shall be presented at checkpoints).

Travel authority

Persons not covered by the EO who need to travel to Cebu City shall secure an authority to travel from the mayor of the LGU where their residence is located.

Persons not covered by the EO who need to travel to the province from Cebu City will have to secure a travel authority from the Provincial Government.

Both authorities to travel are valid for only one day and must be presented at checkpoints.

The governor clarified that despite the easing of border controls, leisure and recreation travel is still prohibited.

As of press time, Garcia was still waiting for the reply of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on her appeal to place the province on modified general community quarantine, which is one step away from lifting all restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. /