Persons traveling between 

Provinces, regions need TA 

CORTES, Bohol, June 6 (PIA)—You envy those locally stranded individuals (LSI) who have acquired the requirements needed to get them finally going home, so you decide to try your luck and follow. What do you do first? 

According to the Guideline on the Movement of People under General Community Quarantine and Modified Community Quarantine issued by the Philippine National Police Directorate on Operations, travel to another province, or other region, be it for indispensable travel by LSI needs travel authority (TA). 

With the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) manning the Quarantine Checkpoints (QCP) across the country’s areas in community quarantines, the guideline aims to inform and guide people on the health safety protocols that must still be observed, says Police Major General Emmanuel Luis D. Licup, police director for operations. 

In case some people may misinterpret the GCQ and MGCQ implementation to mean that they could already enjoy freedom of travel and movement like the way they do before COVID-19 pandemic, the additional guidelines on the movement of people are issued, Gen. Licup continued. 

Persons, on non-essential travels, whether from GCQ to MGCQ areas and vice versa or from one province to another, or from one region to another region, must secure a TA, the memorandum states. 

According to the memo, TA can be issued as soon as the person who will travel can present a Barangay Certification from the Barangay Chairman stating that the person who wants to travel has not developed any COVID-19 symptoms in the last 14 days before the travel request. 

This certification from the Barangay Chairman will serve as the endorsement to the city or Municipal Health Office to conduct medical examination on the person who will travel. 

On the other hand, the person who will travel would need the Medical Clearance Certificate from the City or Municipal Health Office, and this would be given after the health officer has ascertained the health condition of the person who will travel. 

The memorandum however is silent whether the needed medical clearance certificate would be given after what some local government units earlier demanded: a negative result in the Reverse Transcription Polymer Chain Reaction test or the same negative result in a Rapid Antibody test. 

Once the person to travel has secured the needed Medical Clearance Certificate from the City or Municipal Health, or from a Department of Health-accredited hospital or medical institution, he would have two options, according to the guidelines detailed in the memo. 

First, he could submit the Medical Clearance Certificate to the Barangay Chairman, who in turn would facilitate the processing which includes coordination with the local government unit of destination. 

Or, he could submit the Medical Clearance Certificate to the Help Desk at the Municipal or Coty Police Station. 

A personnel assigned at the Help Desk, upon the authority of the Chief of Police will initiate the processing which also includes the same coordination with the LGU of destination through the local police station. 

As to the issuance of TA by the different PNP Command Levels, the memorandum states that the town or city chief of police are authorized to sign the travel between provinces within the region, through a delegated authority on behalf of the Provincial Director. 

As to travel between regions, the Provincial Directors, Deputy Director or City Directors are authorized to sign the TA through a delegated authority on behalf of the Regional Director. 

The memo also said that higher issuing authorities may also issue TAs. 

The mentioned commanders supervise their chiefs of police on the functionality of their respective Help Desks to ensure that the requests for TA are immediately processed and properly coordinated with the LGU destination. 

With this, the PNP Director has ordered personnel manning QCPs to exercise maximum tolerance in the implementation of the quarantine rules but make sure all those who travel without the necessary travel authority would be barred from passing the manned checkpoints. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol) 

UP THE BAR. Police personnel manning quarantine checkpoints have been instructed to bar any returning LSI from entering their towns until they can present a Travel Authority which can be had as soon as the person travelling has been given a Barangay Clearance from his barangay of origin and a medical clearance certificate from accredited government doctors in his place of origin. (PIABohol)