CHECKPOINTS TO STAY. Checkpoints will remain following the national government order placing Carara Region under the Modified General Community Quarantine starting June 1, 2020. Local officials advised the public to continue observing health protocols and to go out of their homes only when necessary. (PNA file photo by Alexander Lopez)
BUTUAN CITY – Provincial checkpoints, curfew hours, and minimum health standards will remain in place as local government units in Caraga transitioned to a Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) starting Monday (June 1).
In Agusan del Norte, Gov. Dale Corvera emphasized that quarantine checkpoints in the province will not be dismantled despite the MGCQ implementation.
“This is to ensure that all entries are indispensable and not for leisure purposes. We are not yet in a new normal situation, we are still under quarantine, though modified, we are not yet totally free to roam around,” Corvera said on Tuesday (June 2).
He also advised Agusan del Norte residents that "the best protection" from the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is to stay home.
When outside, Corvera asked residents to wear a face mask, observe physical distancing, and regularly wash their hands.
Corvera issued Executive Order (EO) No. 28 on May 29 placing the province under MGCQ from June 1 to June 15.
Meanwhile, Surigao del Norte Governor Francisco Matugas issued an executive order Monday mandating that persons traveling from one town to another within the province shall be required to bring a travel pass issued by the local government and a valid identification card.
The entry of persons to Surigao del Norte from other provinces will still be governed by the guidelines issued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on inter-provincial and inter-regional travels.
Mass and religious gatherings are also allowed in the province under the MGCQ with a limit to participants up to 50 percent of the capacity of the venue.
In Surigao del Sur, Governor Alexander Pimentel issued on Monday EO No. 20 that eased the restrictions on cargo ships, food, and non-food vessels, containers, and barges of mining companies.
Pimentel's directive mandated that workers in the mining sector in the province--including the logistics sector to include cargo, trucking and port operations--will be allowed to enter or transit across the province provided that only a minimum of five personnel may operate the cargo and delivery vehicles, with or without load.
EO 20-A said ships, vessels, containers and barges entering the province of Surigao del Sur must secure certification on the health of their crew members and staff.
The order added that crew members and staff of ships, vessels, containers, and barges will not be allowed to disembark for 14 days as mandatory quarantine protocol.
In Agusan del Sur, Governor Santiago Cane Jr. also issued EO No. 20 on Monday that allowed residents in the province to go out of their homes provided that they comply with the required health standards such as wearing a face mask, safe physical distancing of at least one meter, hand washing, foot bath, and temperature check through thermal scanning.
Cane's order also allowed persons below 20 years of age and senior citizens to go outside their residence for purposes of accessing goods and services such as medical check-ups, as well as during emergencies, and going to work in offices and industries permitted to operate.
In Butuan City, Mayor Ronnie Vicente Lagnada's EO No. 31 set the curfew hours in the city from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Drinking, serving, and dispensing of liquor and alcoholic beverages in public places are prohibited.
Barangay home quarantine passes previously issued under ECQ in the city will still be in effect in selected business establishments in the city, Lagnada said, to ensure compliance with physical distancing and avoid the congestion of people.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) at the Butuan Airport on Monday said the commercial flights from Butuan to Manila and Cebu, and vice versa, remain suspended until July 1 this year.
CAAP said the city government of Butuan requested the suspension of the domestic flights until July 1 until after the establishment of the Covid-19 Center and Molecular Testing Laboratory is completed.
“To exercise precaution, airport operation shall resume after completion of the testing facility in order to better prepare the city in handling the influx of people,” the advisory said. (PNA)
