Task force reminds stranded individuals to get medical clearance to return home

May 22, 2020

The Joint Task Force (JTF) COVID Shield on Friday reminded locally stranded individuals they need a medical clearance certificate from the health office of the local government unit (LGU) they have been staying before they can return to their hometown.

Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar, JTF commander, said stranded persons must follow the protocols to prevent  inconvenience for their travel, which include being denied passage at the Quarantine Control Points (QCPs).

“There are still rules that have to be followed and these rules were not implemented to be additional burden for our stranded people but to ensure that they are safe, and that the communities where they want to go back to would also be safe from possible coronavirus infection,” Eleazar said.

Eleazar made the appeal amid questions and confusion on the protocol for the travel of stranded persons following reports that lifting of quarantine restrictions were misinterpreted to be a clearance for them to return to their homes.

He said the rules from the National Task Force Against COVID-19 require stranded persons to secure first a medical clearance certificate from the health office of the local government unit (LGU) where they were stranded.

“The certificate should indicate that the LSI ( locally stranded individuals) did not develop any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 during at least 14 days of home quarantine immediately prior to obtaining the certificate and is fit to travel,” he said.

“There is no need to indicate if testing was done as long as he/she was under quarantine,” Eleazar added.

Eleazar said once a medical clearance certificate is secured, the stranded persons can go to the chief of police, provincial police director, and police regional director to get travel authority.

Eleazar said that if the city or municipality of destination and the city or municipality of origin are adjacent to each other and located at the boundaries of two different provinces or regions, the chief of police of the city or municipality of origin can issue the travel authority.

“Alternatively, the LSI may also choose to secure the Travel Authority from higher Headquarters, up to the national level of the JTF COVID Shield. The issuing authority can delegate the role of approving a Travel Authority to a focal Officer on his behalf,” he said.

Once the requirement is complied, the application will be turned over to the Police Help Desk located at the office of the Issuing Authority, which in turn, will initiate the coordination with the LGU-destinations of the LSIs to ensure the smooth travel and arrival of the concerned LSIs.

When the necessary coordination is done by the police commanders, the applicants will be notified through text messages or e-mail  that their application for Travel Authority is approved and can be picked up.

Travel authority can also be sent via e-mail which could be  shown at the quarantine control points through the stranded persons' smartphones, or the travel authority could be printed.

In coordination with the Philippine National Police,  JTF COVID Shield also informed local police commanders in dealing with stranded persons passing in their respective areas of responsibility.

Eleazar said while the stranded persons are not authorized persons outside residence, they are given consideration to travel going to a certain destination with travel authority issued by JTF CV Shield thru designated PNP unit commanders.

The travel authority must include the date of travel and point of destination, as well as  basic details of  vehicles that will be used and the names of the drivers. Ella Dionisio/DMS