Quarantine and travel passes will be no longer used within the island of Panay starting next month.
The governors of Iloilo, Antique, Capiz, Aklan, Guimaras and Negros Occidental as well as the mayors of Bacolod City and Iloilo City “unanimously” agreed to allow the “free movement of people” in Panay Island.
This was confirmed by Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao on Thursday afternoon, May 28.
Cadiao said orders requiring people in Panay and Guimaras to secure passes and undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine will be lifted after May 31.
However, border checkpoints will remain operational to ensure that the public observe physical distancing and wear face masks.
Meanwhile, seaports and airports in the Western Visayas region “will be used only for the repatriation efforts of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs).”
“Those OFWs and LSIs from outside the region will still undergo the 14-day mandatory quarantine,” Cadiao said.
In a radio interview, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Trenas said the local chief executives of Bacolod and Negros Occidental are apprehensive about the resumption of fast craft and RORO (roll-on, roll-off) trips next month.
“Ang taga Negros kag Bacolod indi anay magtugot. Siguro may mga protocol pa sila nga gusto ipatuman,” he said.
All the provinces and highly urbanized cities in the region will transition to the lowest form of quarantine, MGCQ or modified general community quarantine, from June 1 to 15.
President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Thursday evening that the National Capital Region (NCR), Davao City, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Pangasinan, and Albay will be on GCQ.
“The rest of the country will be under MGCQ,” he said in a public address.IMT
