Gov allows only residents to enter Cebu from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3

Cebu City Hall —FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY—Only returning overseas Filipinos, who are Cebu residents, will be allowed entry at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3.

Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia issued Executive Order No. 49, limiting the entry of international arrivals to Cebu residents.

Arriving passengers need to present ID and a declaration form stating their residency in Cebu.

Garcia has also reimposed the “Cebu’s swab-upon-arrival policy,” which means that returning residents would spend only two days in a hotel or quarantine facility or upon the release of the result of their swab test.

They would then spend the rest of the 10 days under home quarantine and undergo another swab on the 5th day.

She said this would free up rooms in Cebu hotels that locals are occupying as temporary homes after Typhoon “Odette” destroyed their houses and ravaged the province and parts of the Visayas.

“We will only accept Cebuanos or Cebuano residents or those with Cebuano families to come home to until our hotel room situation shall have improved,” said Garcia.

The Governor said 80 percent of the arrivals at the MCIA are non-Cebu residents. She said they were the ones occupying the rooms.

“I will stand on this. Others may not agree. But lucky for them, they were not tasked to look after the welfare of the entire Cebu,” Garcia added.

“This is a crisis. And as I said, Cebuanos also need these hotel rooms, so I am declaring a policy of Cebu first. We must first take care of our own,” she added.

Garcia said the hotels have limited resources because of the calamity.

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