Baguio City to visitors: Follow strict border protocols

BAGUIO LANDMARK The more than 100-year-old Kennon Road, stretching 32 kilometers through Benguet’s mountains, is the shortest and most scenic route to Baguio City from La Union province.
A lion head, carved out of a boulder along the zigzag road, is one of the most famous landmarks of Baguio. —NEIL CLARK ONGCHANGCO/CONTRIBUTOR

BAGUIO CITY — Visitors, including government officials and  “very important persons” (VIPs) were enjoined by the local police force to submit to the city’s strict border rules / restrictions following reports that two Luzon mayors broke protocol when they entered the summer capital with a large entourage.

The two groups reportedly drove through police checkpoints without submitting to mandatory medical examination at a central triage area.

The groups proceeded to the Baguio Country Club but was turned away.

The club, the Baguio City Police Office, and City Hall have yet to issue a statement on the alleged incident.

Last Saturday, June 6, however, a notice penned by Baguio City police chief Col. Allen Rae Co reminded guests that the city conducts cross border checks and requires them to undergo medical protocols “regardless of who the person is.”

Co stressed that everyone entering the city must first sign up at an online registration site put up by the Baguio government “for easy monitoring and for contact tracing purposes.”

Travelers allowed to enter the city are also required to secure a medical certificate from their points of origin which would indicate they are not carriers of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and would need to proceed to a special triage areas put up for returning workers, and residents who were stranded outside Baguio during the Luzon lockdown.

“We stress that the same rule applies to all VIP and Philippine National Police members where they are entering Baguio in their own or serving as escort or security to somebody else,” Co said.

He stressed that the protocols were laid out to spare more Baguio residents from infections.

There are 36 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city, so far.

GSG