SUBIC BAY FREEPORT -- Strict health and safety measures against the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) will remain in force amid general community quarantine (GCQ), said the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
According to SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma, the agency will allow persons with SBMA-issued identification cards or temporary passes to enter and exit the Freeport to accessing essential goods and services or to report for work in offices and industries permitted to operate under GCQ.
“We have relaxed border restrictions in Subic because of the urgent need to revive our economy, which has also fallen sick under the pandemic. To heal as one, we need to restore economic health, but the Covid-19 threat remains,” Eisma said on Monday.
“There is yet no cure or vaccine, so we need to be more cautious, more safety-conscious than ever before. More people movement also means more chances for the virus to move and spread even faster, so we need to protect our businesses, our families and ourselves,” she said.
Under GCQ, the SBMA allowed entry and exit to Freeport workers and residents, accredited suppliers and service providers, holders of Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) IDs, government officials and frontline personnel, and duly authorized humanitarian assistance actors (HAAs).
The SBMA also gave access to persons traveling for medical or humanitarian reasons, those going to the airport for travel abroad, overseas Filipinos with confirmed accommodation in Freeport hotels, persons transported by the national government, those involved in providing essential goods and services, and delivery personnel bringing goods inside the Freeport or for export or import through the Port of Subic.
The Subic agency likewise granted entry but required prior notice or proof of appointment to clients, customers, suppliers and subcontractors or service providers of Subic establishments or enterprises, as well as to visitors, suppliers, subcontractors or service providers of Freeport residents.
The SBMA, however, still required certain persons to stay at home at all times, except when needed to obtain essential goods and services, or to do permitted work. These include persons below 21 years old, those 60 years old and above, persons with immunodeficiency, comorbidities or other health risks, and pregnant women.
To facilitate the entry and exit of workers, residents and other persons allowed inside the Freeport, the SBMA designated four gates for their use: Rizal Gate, Kalaklan Gate, and Morong Gate, which shall be open for both pedestrians and vehicles, and Tipo Gate, which shall only allow said authorized persons in vehicles.