Border crossing policies differ with 2 LGUs on ECQ

EVEN if Cebu City has allowed more businesses to open under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) extension till May 31, 2020, workers of some of those businesses who live outside the city are still not allowed to enter Cebu City.

Residents of Cebu City also cannot go to their places of work in Lapu-Lapu City, even if Lapu-Lapu is now under general community quarantine (GCQ) because they are not allowed to exit Cebu City if they do not fall under the classification of essential workers and other exempted personnel listed by Cebu City.

While Lapu-Lapu City allows non-residents working in an establishment in the city authorized to operate during its GCQ to enter from an ECQ area, on presentation of required documents, Cebu City limits the types of persons allowed to exit Cebu City.

Mandaue City, which is also under ECQ like Cebu City, has more liberal policies, allowing Mandaue residents to exit the city to go to work in GCQ areas, subject to the border protocols of the receiving towns and cities.

Workers from GCQ areas may also enter Mandaue City to render work allowed in the city, subject to reentry protocols of their point-of-origin GCQ area.

Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said only workers of essential establishments are allowed to exit and enter the city as mandated in Executive Order (EO) 78, which he signed on May 16.

“We have a list in our EO. We have to strictly follow that because we’re still under ECQ,” said Labella.

For a complete list of people allowed to enter and exit Cebu City, refer to publication material.

EO 78, which placed the entire city under ECQ until May 31, 2020, allows some establishments to operate. These are industries classified under category 1:

• agriculture, forestry, and fisheries;
• manufacturing of essential goods such as food and beverages (only non-alcoholic drinks), hygiene, medicines and vitamins, medical products, pet food, feeds and fertilizers;
• hospitals and clinics (non-aesthetic such as dermatological, dental, optometric, and eye, ear, nose and throat);
• essential retail (groceries, markets, drug stores);
• laundry shops (including self-service);
• food preparation and water-refilling (take-out and delivery only);
• logistics service providers (cargo handling, warehousing, trucking, shipping line);
• delivery services; utilities such as power energy, water, telecom, aircon, water collection/supply, waste management, sewerage (except septic tank emptying, but including pest control, garbage collection, etc.);
• repair and installation of machinery and equipment;
• telecommunications companies (ISPs, cable providers, telco third party contractors);
• energy companies (including third party contractors), across transmission, distribution, maintenance, retail, exploration, operations, trading and delivery of raw materials (including refineries and depots);
• gasoline stations;
• construction workers accredited by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to work on facilities for health care and for risk reduction;
• manufacturing companies and suppliers of products necessary for construction; and media establishments.

• cement and steel;
• mining and quarrying;
• electronic commerce companies;
• postal, courier and delivery services;
• export-oriented companies (with work-from-home, on-site or near-site accommodation, or point to point shuttles);
• repair of computers and personal household goods;
• housing service activities;
• special purpose accommodation (for health care workers, OFWs, workers in permitted sectors, and non-OFWs with mandated quarantine);
• business process outsourcing (with work-from-home, on-site or near-site accommodation, or point to point shuttles);
• banks, money transfer services, microfinance institutions, pawnshops and credit cooperatives; and
• capital markets (BSP, SEC, PDEC, PDTC, etc.).
• Industries under category 3 that are also permitted to operate at full capacity:
• rental and leasing, other than real estate (vehicles equipment for permitted sectors); and
• employment activities (recruitment and placement for permitted sectors).

• cement and steel;
• real estate activities (leasing activities only);
• accommodation for guests (only for existing long-term bookings);
• funeral and embalming services (excluding funeral parlors);
• veterinary clinics; and security and investigation activities.