Medical frontliners, essential workers do not need travel authority to take provincial buses

MEDICAL FRONTLINERS and other essential workers are not required to secure a travel authority when taking provincial buses, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday. PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Guillermo T. Eleazar said these workers only have to present their company ID and certificate of employment to be allowed on the bus. Mr. Eleazar made the clarification after receiving reports that all passengers going to Metro Manila are being required to have a travel authority before given entry to bus terminals. “We would like to remind the bus companies that all medical frontliners and essential workers have to present are valid identification cards or certificates of employment proving that their travel is workrelated,” he said in a statement. Essential workers, as defined by government guidelines, include employees of supermarkets, drugstores, utility companies, agriculture, and food production, among others. “The travel of medical frontliners and essential workers must be less restricted since they play a key role in the effective response of the government on COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019),” he said. A travel authority, he added, is only required for locally stranded individuals and those that do not fall under the essential category.

Twelve provincial bus routes between Metro Manila and neighboring provinces have been opened. — Emmanuel Tupas/ PHILSTAR