Gov’t to discuss standardized travel requirements between LGUs

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s Covid-19 task force will discuss standardizing the set of requirements for movement between local government units (LGUs), Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Wednesday.

Nograles acknowledged the difficulty of movement between LGUs as of now and the need for the national government to tackle it.

“Right now, ang hirap gumalaw between LGUs. ‘Pag nagkaroon ng vaccination rollout, mas kumpiyansa ang mga LGUs na tumanggap mula sa iba’t-ibang LGUs. Right now, ang daming patakaran,” said Nograles, Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) co-chairperson, in an interview with PTV.

(Right now, it’s hard to move between LGUs. Once we have the vaccination rollout, the LGUs will have more confidence to accept visitors from other LGUs. But right now, there are so many rules.)

“In fact, isa sa mga paguusapan namin sa IATF would be ‘yung ano ‘yung pag-standardize natin ng requirements ng LGUs. Kasi nga iba-ibang LGU, iba-ibang mga requirements at patakaran,” he added.

(In fact, one of the things we will discuss in the IATF is the standardization of LGUs’ requirements. Different LGUs have different requirements and rules.)

The Department of Tourism (DOT) previously proposed that LGUs adopt a uniform set of guidelines and requirements for visitors.

Among the requirements that LGUs ask for visitors are negative swab test results, medical clearances, and travel passes.

“Since tourists would wish to visit several destinations, it is confusing and cumbersome if LGUs have different apps, protocols, and requirements to comply with. Thus, uniformity should make travel plans a lot easier and ultimately, more fun,” DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat earlier said.

KGA