With Metro Manila making the shift to general community quarantine (GCQ), residents who go out to buy essential goods may not need to present their quarantine passes anymore.

According to Vice-Chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Eduardo Año, quarantine passes are no longer necessary since the GCQ is no longer a lockdown.

“Ang ating presumption dito, nagkaroon na ng disiplina ‘yung mga tao, at ‘yung pamilya, nasanay na sila na isa na lang ang lumalabas sa kanila. Preparation papuntang new normal,” he explained in an interview with CNN Philippines, hours before Duterte approved the shift to GCQ.

Despite this, Año stressed that traveling to other areas to purchase essential goods is still discouraged. People crossing provincial borders will require travel passes, which can be secured from local police stations.

Only employees working in essential businesses can get through quarantine checkpoints without travel passes. They only need to present their company ID or certificate of employment to prove that they are Authorized Persons Outside of Residence.

[READ: No, essential workers don’t need travel authority to go to work]

On the evening of May 28, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that the National Capital Region will be placed under GCQ from Jun. 1 to Jun. 15.

This is in line with the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Metro Manila’s mayors.

[READ: Beginning June, Metro Manila will be transitioning to GCQ]

Header image by Inquirer.net

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