POLICE stations in Davao City are now authorized to issue travel authority to decongest the One-Stop-Shop at the Davao City Police Office (DCPO).
This, as the Department of the Interior and Local Government in Davao Region (DILG-Davao) awaits the approval of the Interagency Task Force (IATF) to stop requiring travel authority to individuals returning to their home provinces within the region.
Davao City Police Office Director Kirby John Kraft said the public may now be able to secure travel authorities from the nearest police station starting Thursday, June 11.
"Malaking ginhawa po ito sa mga aplikante natin na nasa barangay. Yung pinakamalapit po na police station, doon na lang po sila mag tutungo para kumuha po ng travel authority (This is a big relief for our applicants. They can go to the nearest station for their travel authority)," he said in an interview in Davao City Disaster Radio, Wednesday, June 10.
Meanwhile, DILG-Davao Regional Director Alex Roldan said he has sent a letter to the IATF to remove travel authority from the travel requirements.
He said getting the medical certificate is already a tedious process and would take around three to four days to secure.
"Muadto ka sa barangay, i-verify sa barangay or sa purok kung wala ba ni maapil sa lista sa Bhert (Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams) bago muhatag og certification ang kapitan. Pagkahuman, iadto nato sa City Health or Municipal Health then paghuman og test, hulaton napud ang result (The barangay captain has to certify the person if he or she is not on the list of the Bhert. The person will then be tested in the city or municipal health centers and wait for the result )," he said.
"Then karon ato na pung palinyahon sa PNP (Philippine National Police), for what? Di man nato masabtan ang importance. Ang PNP, ang tan aw nato, ang ilang role is to make sure nga naay dokumento (We can't see the importance of having people queue for the travel authority. The PNP is just there to check the documents)," he added.
He said the people flocking to DCPO to get travel authority are instead put at risk of infection.
"It is just there to potentially delay the movement of people to delay the contamination, but it will give false hope," he said.
Roldan said he is optimistic that the IATF will grant the request.
Earlier, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio announced that the regional IATF (RIATF) agreed not to require travel authority from travelling individuals within Davao Region.
"Everybody agreed didto na diri sa Davao Region, dili naka kinahanglan og travel authority going out anywhere... Ang kinahanglan na lang nimo is mag-present ka og medical clearance dinha sa checkpoint (Everybody agreed during the meeting to forgo the travel authority requirements within the Davao Region. What will be required is the medical clearance)," Duterte-Carpio said.
In a document issued by RIATF on June 8, 2020, workers coming in and out of the city will only need to present their company ID or a certificate of employment.
It added that business owners will be required to present business permits and shall indicate their destination.
"Indispensable travels" such as family emergencies, medical emergencies, and those with humanitarian reasons shall also be permitted without travel authority and will be required a medical certificate. (With reports from Ralph Lawrence Llemit)