Best Posts in Thread: IATF removes travel testing and quarantine requirements.

you can open the floodgates easily one of the worst decisions, wonder if their concrete statues going to get them out of this one, you know that this is not going to end well

 

Again, shared misperception breeds misconception that clouds understanding of what's going on...

• The Provincial Governor was reportedly advising, though not pressing, the City Mayor to remove requirement of a Certificate of Acceptance and RT-PCR test result for entry into the city.
• I agree the governor and the city mayor are not on the same page because of the City LGU's continued imposition of pre-departure Certificate of Acceptance with a 72-hour valid Negative RT-PCR Test Result pending local implementation of DOST's Safe, Swift, and Smart Passage (S-PaSS) Travel Management System that provides a means for monitoring and contact-tracing.

The Provincial Government of Negros Oriental cannot compel the City Government of Dumaguete to be subject to or to follow its manner of implementation of IATF Guidelines because it ceased to have governmental jurisdiction and authority over Dumaguete when the municipality was converted into a city by the enactment of Republic Act No. 327 (July 15, 1948) titled Charter of the City of Dumaguete (published at https://laws.chanrobles.com/republicacts/4_republicacts.php?id=326). The 1st Congress of the Philippines created the city as part of the first representative district of the Province of Negros Oriental but separated as no longer a component of the Provincial Government.

The question then arose whether or not Dumaguete City voters have right to take part in elections for Negros Oriental provincial officials in Jose Pro Teves, et.al. vs. Commission On Elections. The Philippine Supreme Court, in its Decision (published at https://www.chanrobles.com/scdecisions/jurisprudence1951/nov1951/gr_l-5150_1951.php), declared that “The creation of Dumaguete City has made it a political entity separate from and independent of the province of Negros Oriental” and upheld that ”… Until otherwise provided by law, City of Dumaguete shall continue as part of the first representative district of the Province of Oriental Negros …the inhibitants of the city may not vote for provincial officials, but may vote for their representative in Congress.”

Later, Republic Act No. 5797 (June 21, 1969) titled Revised Charter of the City of Dumaguete (https://thecorpusjuris.com/legislative/republic-acts/ra-no-5797.php) was enacted wherein the 6th Congress reiterates to affirm: “Until otherwise provided by law, the City of Dumaguete shall continue as part of the first congressional district of the Province of Oriental Negros, and shall remain the capital of the same” even as, in defining relations between the City of Dumaguete and the Provincial Government of Negros Oriental, it provides to amend that, “All qualified voters of the City of Dumaguete shall be entitled to vote and to be voted upon in all provincial elective positions in accordance with the Revised Election Code.”

Much later, the 8th Congress enacted Republic Act No. 7160 (October 10, 1991) titled Local Government Code of 1991 wherein, under subtitle Inter-Local Government Relations, the law provides that, “Highly urbanized cities and independent component cities shall be independent of the province.”

Incidentally, Bais City and Canlaon City are also independent cities by their charter. Bayawan City, Tanjay City, and Guihulngan City are chartered as component cities under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Government of Negros Oriental.

 

I am glad to see I am not the only one who interpreted their press releases the same. They should ask themselves a scenario how one can enter a neighboring LGU without a swab test. The best part I enjoyed in EO#6, is the clear direction that the City or LGU must shoulder the cost for the test. Once Romello re-reads and understands Dumaguete will be responsible to pay for testing, I expect an immediate change in policy.

 

Everyone will have their own opinion on this, mainly based on their own perception of risk and factoring in age and current health. I see no point arguing against the different views but show a few points from a recent CNN article for those who are unsure what the risks will be from this change in levels of protection.

From: https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/2/27/iatf-uniform-travel-protocols-covid-19.html

* "The task force stressed that minimum public health standards should be strictly implemented. Clinical and exposure assessment shall be done to ensure that only asymptomatic travelers, and those who did not have close contact with COVID-19 patients, can enter the LGUs."

(They have no way to ensure that a person is asymptomatic and no way to ensure that a person has not had close contact with anyone with Covid-19 (not only "patients"), so these criteria are pointless. How many new cases will have started en route if Covid cases are mixing with everyone else??? And this also means that the rule "only .... those who did not have close contact with COVID-19 patients, can enter the LGUs" will require EVERY passenger on any transport (plane, ship, bus) where a symptomatic case is found, to be REFUSED entry. Is that a risk that travellers will take? Or once they grasp this, will they just let the symptomatics through at the destination?)

"Health assessment of passengers, supervised by medical doctors, shall be mandatory upon entry in the port/terminal and exit at point of destination," the IATF stressed."

(I am pleased they will be using 'medical' doctors, perhaps instead of those with a PH.D in sociology, but the first quote shows they are assessing something they cannot assess (asymptomatic disease and recent previous close contact). Again, seems to me to be pointless - and will probably pick up those with raised temperature due to a variety of non-Covid causes. At least that will justify their process, as they cart off dozens of people with a different infection.)

"The Department of Tourism said in a separate statement that the simplification of requirements will encourage domestic travel and help the industry recover."

(This is, of course, the reason for the relaxation of rules and it is understandable why this is desired. But it may be a very temporary situation when, after cases are exploding daily, the whole country enters strict lockdown or people stop traveling because the risks become too high. And, from my point above, how many people will travel if they risk being turned back at the destination because ONE person on the transport was found to be showing symptoms of 'something' that 'could' be interpreted as a 'possible' Covid infection?)

"Amid efforts to reopen the economy, the country records an increase of more than 1,000 to over 2,000 COVID-19 cases daily"

(So, already a doubling of cases! And the new rules are only now being operated nationally.)

To be fair in this analysis, they do say "It also institutionalizes the use of the Safe, Swift, and Smart Passage (S-PaSS) Travel Management System of the Department of Science and Technology, a one-stop-shop for travelers' application and communication needs, and the StaySafe.ph contact tracing app."
“Traze App for airports, and such other existing contact tracing applications must be integrated with the StaySafe.ph System,” the IATF said."

(I have no idea how effective this will be - but 100%? No way.)

"Eased travel protocols may accelerate COVID-19 spread in PH: Implementing uniform travel protocols may pose threat to areas with minimal COVID-19 risk, according to a fellow of OCTA Research team. In a virtual briefing on Saturday, Dr. Guido David of OCTA Research said the move was a "bit concerning" given the new variants present in the Philippines. "Some areas are doing well, and some areas are not doing well. We have to be careful [with] border controls," he said. "We should be concerned. For example, there are tourists from NCR going to Cebu, we already know that there is a variant that is spreading there, (so) we should be vigilant. Dr. David stressed the virus will also spread quickly to Metro Manila's surrounding regions."

(So this is not only my analysis of the 'new normal'. Just in case I receive any more of the 'so why do you think you know anything?' comments).

And for fair balance "Department of Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire in the same briefing expressed support to the IATF's decision. She said that the government's health experts have long recommended the dropping of negative COVID-19 test results from domestic tourist requirements since it was "irrational" to do so. "Sometimes what is used is not an appropriate test; sometimes it is tested but not yet at the peak viral load, we miss the opportunity to detect the virus. So, it becomes inefficient."

(In a final word: Having "inappropriate tests" seems NOT a very good reason to take the dam away and let the country flood.)

Anyone unsure about the situation would be advised to think about the points above - if you welcome the chance to travel then I hope it is enjoyable and you return fit and healthy. I have no desire to feel joy at another person's illness. But, as I have said so many times before, PERSONAL protection of yourselves and your loved ones now becomes imperative - and there is a possibility that a significant number of ex-pats will soon be thinking of leaving for safer climes.

 

You are so right. The DILG and I are not on the same page. I was discussing classification based on legislated charter that gives an LGU distinct political rights and authority to self-governance apart and separate from the province where it is located whereas the DILG administratively uses the Local Government Code's classification based on local income level, population size, and land area that, together, define an LGU's annual share in the national revenue for the funding of devolved basic services, facilities, and projects, such as quarantine facililties, hospitals, etc.

According to the DOH Bureau of Local Health Development: "There are 122 cities in the Philippines as of August 28, 2010. Thirty-eight cities are independent: 33 are classified as "highly urbanized" and 5 as "independent component;" the rest are component cities of the provinces in which they are geographically located." However, there is no indication of qualifying classification criteria.

As for De Gamo and Remollo, the governor appears focused on the section on Testing and Quarantine in IATF Resolution No. 101 of February 26, 2021 that gives travelers freedom of entry whereas the mayor is looking at the section on Guidelines For Interzonal And Intrazonal Movement in the Omnibus Guidelines On The Implementation Of Community Quarantine which, since June 25, 2020 and until now in the Omnibus Guideline with Amendments as of February 18, 2021, continue to make the movement of APORs subject to the concurrence of the receiving LGUs and tourism travel or non-APOR travel permitted yet subject to reasonable regulation as may be imposed by the LGU concerned as submitted to the DILG, if any.

It so happens there is an "any." In the mean time that mass vaccination and the S-Pass are not fully implemented, the Mayor appears uninclined to waive the previously DILG-submitted regulatory requirement at https://dumaguetecity.gov.ph/wp-con...86_1314989452040669_8694654291145927588_o.jpg

 

Actually, you could be right. Yet City Mayor Remollo and the Task Force could be justified in maintaining vigilance because, during the first week of October 2020, the city had only 2 CoVid-19 mortalities even as Negros Oriental recorded a cumulative total of 185 positive cases. Then a lawyer APOR of the Provincial Government who resides in Zamboanguita arrived from high-risk Metro Manila on October 3, 2020, wantonly violated MGCQ protocol by omitting post-arrival quarantine, negligently went around until symptoms set in, and then got hospitalized for weeks as NegOr-CoViD Patient #191 at the NOPH, along with the other Provincial Government APORs who travelled with him on official business. In the course of community transmission, cases and deaths spiked in the city, with Dumaguete accounted for 27.99% or 508 of total 1,815 CoViD-19 cases in Negros Oriental and 52.73% or 29 of the 55 deaths, to date. I suppose the 4th quarter of 2020 was a traumatizing ordeal that the City LGU does not want to ever happen again.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that unless Dumaguete City would actually be implementing effective checkpoints at all roads and trails entering the city, that perceived independence from provincial rules and regulations doesn't actually matter at all.

 

Only way would be to actually man checkpoints and check everyone (can't see that happening).