Effective today all mass and non-essential gatherings are prohibited, unless lifted or modified, in Iloilo City.
This was contained in Executive Order No. 033 issued by Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, providing the new guidelines on inbound travel to Iloilo City and additional health intervention measures.
Treñas said this in preparation to the lifting of the moratorium of flights in Iloilo City and to prevent the surge of COVID-19 cases.
Under the new executive order, non-essential gatherings include but not limited to parties, celebrations or other social events.
However, weddings and baptisms are allowed subject to the limitation of attendees up to 15 persons, or only immediate family within the first degree.
For wakes and funeral services, attendees must only include the deceased person’s immediate family up to third degree of consanguinity, or not more than 10 persons at a time.
It added that religious gatherings are only permissible subject to 30 percent capacity limitation and no activities shall be allowed outside the church or venue.
Meanwhile, all private establishments and government offices are directed to adopt work arrangements that entail not more than 30 percent of employees working on-site or a 30 percent workforce capacity.
On the other hand, effective April 11 all travelers bound to Iloilo City must utilize the S-Pass System prior to travel as pre-departure requirements.
For those city residents and/or those staying with Iloilo City residents, they must obtain a Travel Coordination Permit through S-Pass Travel Management System by submitting a Certificate of Residency from respective barangays in the city.
For non-city residents, meantime, they have to submit a copy of a hotel or accommodation establishment booking.
Authorized persons outside residence (APOR) staying in the city for not more than 24 hours must also secure the pre-departure requirements, negative RP-PCR test result, among others.
On the other hand, all other individuals arriving in the city such as locally stranded individuals, returning overseas Filipinos and APOR staying in Iloilo City for more than 24 hours, and persons on non-essential travel/tourists traveling in the city must also secure pre-departure requirements and submit it using the S-Pass system and secure a copy of Travel Coordination Permit.
Upon arrival, those traveling by air shall be subject to nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal RT-PCR swab testing at the airport while those traveling by sea must proceed to Jubilee Hall at Mabini Street for swab testing.
After the RT-PCR testing, individuals must observe strict self-quarantine until negative RT-PCR test result is issued.
Individuals who are confirmed COVID-19 positive shall comply with the instructions of local health authorities./WDJ