THE Department of Interior and Local Government issued an urgent advisory Friday, March 20, directing all concerned agencies in the fight against the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) that the home quarantine passes to be issued by local government units should be distributed to households for free.
DILG Central Luzon director Julie Daquioag, in a letter signed on Friday, said the passes should be distributed with the necessary social distancing protocols.
The regional director addressed the issue after several reports of local officials imposing payments for the issuance of passes.
The passes are issued in line with the enhance quarantine protocols in place in Luzon. Only one member of the household, with age between 18 and 60 years old, is allowed to be given a home quarantine pass. The passes aim to limit the movement of people from their households and only allow urgent errands for emergency, provisions and medical needs.
Aside from the quarantine pass, the household representative must always bring a valid identification card when going out for verification purposes. Just this week, President Rodrigo Duterte declared an enhanced community quarantine for the entire Luzon and later put the whole country under a state of calamity due to Covid-19 pandemic.