Executive Order No. 0018-2021

ADOPTING THE UNIFORM TRAVEL PROTOCOLS UNDER IATF-EID RESOLUTION NO. 101, SERIES OF 2021

WHEREAS, the State is mandated to protect and promote the right to health of the people under Article II, Section 15 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, and local government units are empowered to exercise necessary, appropriate and incidental powers for its efficient governance in promotion of general welfare, as provided by Section 16 of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as Local Government Code of 1991;

WHEREAS, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte issued Proclamation No. 1021, s.2020, extending the period of State of Calamity throughout the country declared under Proclamation No. 929, s.2020, and enjoining local government units to continue mobilizing the necessary resources to undertake critical, urgent, and appropriate disaster response measures in a timely manner to curtail and eliminate the threat of Covid-19;

WHEREAS, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) issued Resolution No. 101, series of 2021, approving the uniform protocols for land, air, and sea travel of the Department of Interior and Local Government, crafted in close coordination with the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), and the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP);

WHEREAS, consistent with IATF Resolution No. 101 series of 2021, there is a need to issue revised guidelines for travel, in order to avoid confusion amidst the continuous effort to address and contain the spread of Covid-19, so that responses and measures done will not be put to naught;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, AMADO I. ESPINO III, Governor of the Province of Pangasinan, Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me, do hereby adopt and implement the following measures:

SECTION 1. GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR TRAVEL:

1. Travel authority and medical certificates shall no longer be required for travel.

2. Negative RT-PCR results are no longer required for travel, except if specifically required by the component LGU of destination.

3. Pangasinan may now admit tourists outside the BLUPISIN area, subject to reasonable restrictions that may be imposed by the host LGU upon tourists, especially those from areas with classifications higher than MGCQ.

4. Tourists are encouraged to register at the pangasinan.tarana.ph online visitor registration system pending implementation of the Safe, Swift and Smart Passage (S-PaSS) Travel Management System of the DOST.

5. In enacting respective reasonable regulations, component LGUs are enjoined to maintain a balance between economic recovery on one hand, and health and safety measures on the other hand.

SECTION 2. MINIMUM PUBLIC HEALTH STANDARDS:

1. Minimum public health standards, which include physical distancing, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and wearing of face masks and face shields among others, shall be strictly implemented across the entire jurisdiction;

2. Clinical and exposure assessment shall be strictly implemented in all ports of entry and exit to ensure that only asymptomatic, non-close contact individuals are allowed to travel or enter the LGU of destination. Health assessment of passengers, particularly of returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs), supervised by medical doctors, shall be mandatory upon entry in the port/terminal and exit at point of destination.

3. Non-APORs who are below 15 years old, those who are above 65 years old of age, and those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, and other health risks shall still be required to remain in their residences at all times except in emergency cases or when allowed under the issuances of the IATF-EID.

4. LSIs, ROFs, and OFWs shall still be required to report to BHERTS upon arrival to their respective residences, for monitoring purposes.

5. Consistent with Republic Act No. 11332, otherwise known as the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act”, component LGUs are directed to continue to oversee and constantly monitor the health status of their respective constituents. Component LGUs shall, in turn, submit periodic reports to the Provincial IATF for monitoring purposes.

SECTION 3. ON TESTING AND QUARANTINE:

1. Testing shall not be required for day visitors or for those who will visit the province for less than twenty-four (24) hours;

2. Testing shall not be mandatory for travelers inbound to Pangasinan except if the receiving component LGU shall require RT-PCR test as a requirement for their stay thereat;

3. No traveler shall be required to undergo quarantine unless he/she exhibits symptom/s upon arrival at the LGU of destination.

SECTION 4. ON DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS:

1. Travel authority issued by Joint Task Force COVID Shield and health or medical certificates shall no longer be required;

2. Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APORs) from national government agencies and their attached agencies, local government units, and the private sector shall only be required to provide the following:

a. Valid or government-issued identification card;

b. Travel order and travel itinerary (mandatory for APORs from the government; required for the private sector only if applicable);

c. Pass the symptom-screening at ports of entry and exit or upon boarding public transport pursuant to IATF-EID Resolution No. 98-A.

SECTION 5. ON PORTS/TERMINALS:

1. All terminals must have assigned sufficient quarantine/isolation facilities;

2. All ports and terminals shall put in place a referral system wherein travelers who become symptomatic shall be transferred to quarantine/isolation facilities to enable the Bureau of Quarantine for airports, or local health officials in case of LGUs, to take over;

3. At their option, component LGUs may provide transportation for all travelers who are transiting from one LGU to another in cases of arrivals at air and seaports to their end-point destinations.

SECTION 6. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE: Should any provision of this Order be declared by a court of competent authority as invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions not adversely affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 7. EFFECTIVITY CLAUSE: This Order shall take effect immediately until or unless subsequently amended/revoked/revised. All orders, rules, regulations, promulgations, circulars, and/or issuances by the IATF and/or concerned national government offices/agencies are hereby adopted. All previous issuances of the undersigned and/or by component LGUs, which are not in contravention of the IATF Resolutions and/or its member agencies shall be made applicable in a suppletory manner.

Done this 1st day of March 2021 in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

AMADO I. ESPINO, III

Governor