TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Mayor Darwin Estrañero clarified that a ‘letter of acceptance’ from the city government is no longer a requirement for stranded residents in applying for travel authority to return home.
This is in line with the new guidelines for the management of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) issued by the national task force, Mayor Estrañero said during the meeting of Tabuk’s inter-agency COVID-19 Task Force on Tuesday.
“Adu paylang tumawtawag kanyatayu a kailyan nga stranded ti daduma a lugar, asking for a letter of acceptance so that they can come home. They are not aware that this is no longer a requirement,” the local chief executive said.
The new guidelines cite only two documents to be presented by the LSIs upon arrival in their places of residence: a medical certificate and a travel authority. For returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and LSIs with negative COVID-19 RT-PCR results, they must present a certificate from the Bureau of Quarantine instead of a medical certificate.
The medical certificate shall be issued by the city/municipal health office of the place where the LSI is currently stranded. This means that Tabukeños who are stranded in, for example, Baguio City shall secure their medical certificate from the Baguio City Health Office while non-Tabukeños (for example: residents of Cagayan, Isabela, Baguio City, Manila, etc.) who are currently stranded in Tabuk shall get their medical certificate from the Tabuk City Health Office.
“The medical certificate states there that you are not a ‘suspect’, ‘probable’, or confirmed COVID-19 case or have contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case,” City Health Officer Henrietta Bagayao said.
After securing a medical certificate, LSIs shall go to the barangay hall to coordinate their travel to their place of residence (point of origin and destination, travel date, name of drivers, vehicle to be used and plate number). The barangay is responsible for listing the names of LSIs and ROFs to be submitted to the police.
Lastly, the LSI shall go to the nearest police station to get the travel authority. For those who are stranded in Tabuk, the Tabuk City Police Station requests that the process for travel authority application should be three days before your scheduled travel.
By Iryll Sicnao
