Cebu City Government to issue quarantine passes

THE Cebu City Government will be issuing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) passes to limit the movement of the public during the whole period of ECQ.

In Executive Order 65 issued on March 27, 2020, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella emphasized that all the passes will be distributed for free.

“No fees shall be collected for the issuance of ECQ passes. Furthermore, these passes are absolutely not for sale,” the order states.

The distribution is one ECQ pass per household.

Section 2 of EO 65 states that those who are required to secure ECQ passes are one member per household for Cebu City residents; non-residents who are qualified to enter and exit the city who are not exempted under EO 64; residents who are qualified and need to exit and enter the city, unless exempted under EO 64; and all other persons as determined by the City to secure ECQ passes.

EO 64 is the declaration of the state of ECQ in the entire Cebu City issued on March 26 and will be implemented on March 28.

In EO 65, it was emphasized that only the Cebu City Government is allowed to issue the ECQ passes.

As for the distribution, the Philippine National Police (PNP), barangay officials and duly authorized person are authorized to distribute it.

The City will be issuing four types of ECQ passes: the Green pass for Cebu City residents; Red pass for employees and officials of government offices; Blue pass for non-residents of Cebu City; and White pass for crisis management teams and other frontliners.

For Cebu City residents or the recipient of green passes, they are given five-day transition period until the strict implementation of “no pass, no exit” policy will start.

The green passes will be distributed house-to-house by the members of the PNP, barangay officials, or any duly authorized person appointed by the mayor’s office.

The distribution of green passes will start on March 28, while the strict implementation of “no pass, no exit” policy will start on April 1.

Those who will distribute the passes will have to maintain a record of the issuances with complete details of recipient’s name, birth date, barangay, address, contact numbers and other members of the household.

For the red, blue and white passes, the applicants must submit a letter request to mayor’s office personally or through email at ccg.ecqpass@gmail.com.

For red passes, whose recipients are the government workers, their letter request must have the subject “GOE - (Name of Office).”

The letter request must specify the names and functions of the government officials or employees to be given ECQ passes.

For blue passes whose recipients are non-residents but are working in the city, the subject of their letter request “NR - (Family Name) - (LGU of residence).”

One letter request is good for only one individual.

For white passes, whose recipients are those in crisis management teams and frontliners, the subject of the letter request is “CMTF - (Office, Agency, or Company).”

All the letter request will still have to be evaluated by the Office of the Mayor and once approved, the Office will also be the one to issue it to the applicants.

Those exempted under the Stay at Home Order are no longer required to secure ECQ passes, and are only need to present their company ID, Certificate of Employment, or any bona fide document to prove they are exempted.

Exempted from Stat at Home Order are the medical practitioners, officers, hospital staff, nurses, and health volunteers; emergency personnel; all authorized national and local government officials and employees; drivers and personnel of delivery vehicles of all types of cargoes; construction workers duly authorized by the City; accredited media personnel; farmers, fishermen, and agri-business personnel; persons who seek medical attention or who are already admitted in any medical facility, provided that only one companion shall be allowed; employees of exempted establishments as provided under Section 2 of EO 65; and such other persons as may be authorized by the mayor or his duly authorized representative.

Unauthorized reproduction or use of the ECQ passes will subject the violator to criminal charges.

From the time of issuance, the PNP, barangay officials and the authorized person by the mayor should submit the records within 48 hours to the Mayor’s office.

The implementing agencies of this order are the Armed Forces of Philippines, PNP, and barangay officials and tanods as force multipliers. (JJL)