President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said Cebu province must abide by the arrival protocols of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), Malacañang said on Monday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the announcement in a virtual presser after Malacañang’s order to divert all international flights from Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in Cebu to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City expired on June 12.
“From the office of the Executive Secretary: The President has decided that the IATF protocols must be implemented by the Cebu Province,” Roque said.
On May 27, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea initially issued a memorandum directing the diversion of international flights from MCIA to NAIA from May 29 to June 5 to ensure the proper implementation of the testing and quarantine protocols imposed on returning Filipinos in the province.
On June 5, Medialdea issued another memorandum extending the flight diversion until June 12.
“The last extension was just a preparation for full implementation of that decision. So, the President has also considered the DOH (Department of Health) critique and has decided that Cebu Province must abide with the IATF arrival protocols,” Roque said.
Duterte met with Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia at Malacañan Palace in Manila on May 31 to reconcile the IATF-EID and the province’s different protocols against Covid-19.
Cebu earlier implemented a different set of protocols for returning Filipinos, which include two reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests within a week and a strict home quarantine due to limited isolation facilities in the province.
The existing IATF-EID rules mandate all arriving passengers, including those who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, to stay in a quarantine facility for 10 days and observe home quarantine for another four days.
Incoming travelers are also required to take an RT-PCR on the seventh day of their quarantine.
Roque said Cebu has amended its ordinance on arriving OFWs to include RT-PCR test upon arrival and after a week.
“It has always been the protocol which deviates from the IATF protocol that in Cebu arriving passengers are given PCR upon arrival and then—on the seventh but if they test negative on the third day then they are sent for home quarantine,” Roque said.
Roque said the IATF-EID policy on arriving OFWs “remains that it must be followed nationwide.”
Unlikely to be MGCQ
Roque, meanwhile, said the IATF-EID will tackle the next quarantine classifications in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus but “unlikely” that Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal will be placed under less restrictive modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
He cited that the total new cases throughout the country, including the NCR Plus, remain high.
“So, is it likely to be MGCQ? I have very serious doubts na magiging MGCQ po iyan. Is it likely na magiging regular GCQ? Most likely po pero antayin na lang natin dahil oras na lang po ang binibilang bago po mag-recommend ang ating IATF (that it will be MGCQ. Is it likely to be regular GCQ? Most likely but we have to wait for our IATF to make a recommendation),” Roque said.
He said the IATF-EID will tackle the next quarantine classification and will make a recommendation that Duterte will announce in his regular Talks to the People on Monday night.
Roque said Duterte will also decide on the appeals of some local government units (LGUs) to put their respective areas under the most strict enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the surge of new coronavirus cases particularly in some areas Visayas and Mindanao.
On Sunday, the Department of Health reported 7,302 new Covid-19 infections, increasing the country’s active cases to 59,865.
It also logged 7,701 new recoveries, pushing the overall recovery count to 1,232,986 or 93.7 percent of the country’s total case, and 137 new deaths, bringing the death toll to 22,788
Source: Philippines News Agency
