BY CARLA P. GOMEZ
Mayor Evelio Leonardia has issued an executive order establishing the Home Quarantine Pass (HQP) system, and check-up points to regulate the movement of people within Bacolod City and the entry and exit of out-of-towners as a means of stemming the local spread of Covid-19 infections.
EO No. 58 Series of 2020 will take effect starting tomorrow until September 15.
The mayor said strict home quarantine will be imposed on persons below 21 years old, 60 years old and above, those with immunodeficiencies, comorbidities, or other health risks, regardless of age, pregnant women, and any person who resides with them.
Those exempted from the home quarantine rule are:
*Government officials and employees, who are required to work on-site to ensure the delivery of public services;
*Medical and non-medical frontliners and emergency responders of public and private entities who are required to work on-site to ensure the delivery of their services;
*Private sector employees, who are required to work on-site in offices and businesses permitted by the National Inter-Agency Task Force/Department of Trade and Industry to operate during whatever community quarantine category is currently approved by national authorities. If indispensable, however, this may also include members of the vulnerable sectors;
*Business owners, who need to supervise their businesses or stores, which may also include members of the vulnerable sectors;
*Self-employed individuals, whose occupations require them to render essential services to the community;
*Living-alone member of vulnerable sectors who has to procure food, medicines, and other essential goods and services for himself/herself;
*All persons requiring medical consultations, treatments and therapies with a companion, if needed; and
*Any other individual/s that the barangay may allow on a special case-to-case basis for justifiable reasons.
There will be new issuances of HQPs by the city government in coordination with the barangays to regulate the movement of Bacolodnons within the city, and to help each household access its basic provisions for food, medicines, health, and other essential commodities and services.
HQP PRIVILEGE
The HQP cannot be used as a travel pass through other towns and cities outside of Bacolod City.
Holders of HQPs ending in odd numbers – 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 will be permitted to leave their households and use the pass on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays;
Holders of HQPs ending in even numbers – 2, 4, 6, 8, 0 – shall be permitted to leave their households on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays;
No HQP holder shall be permitted to leave their households on Sundays, in the same manner that no HQP shall be used on Sundays.
Social distancing shall be observed at all times by the HQP holders in any place of their use, the EO said.
EXCEPTIONS
Out-of-towners allowed to enter into and exit from Bacolod City are public officials/employees, private sector employees who have to work on-site in the city, business owners who have to physically supervise their stores, people in the act of transporting essential goods, prime commodities, and any type of cargo in bulk;
People in the act of delivering construction materials for public or private construction projects, patients, students who need to attend face-to-face classes in higher education, people who are transiting through the city to reach other towns/cities to the north, south, or east, and members of volunteer organizations in the act of undertaking humanitarian projects or responding to emergencies/disasters in the city.
Any out-of-towner who wishes to enter the city but does not fall under any of the above categories will be subject to health protocols that may be imposed by city health authorities, such as quarantine in a city government or private facility up to a maximum of 14 days and RT-PCR swab tests, with all costs for quarantine and swab test to be borne by said out-of-towner, the EO added.
Travel into Bacolod for leisure or for visiting purposes will not be allowed, it said.
Malls and commercial centers must require the presentation of HQPs upon entry of people appearing to be younger than 21 years old and those 60 years or older, with a valid ID and picture, it added.
HQPs issued under this EO must be preserved by the holders for future use should the HQP system again be implemented, the EO said.
Check-up points from September 3-15 will be established at the city’s borders and within the city, to enforce the implementation of the HQP Program and to regulate the entry/exit of Bacolod residents and out-of-towners into the city, the EO said.*
