3 PROVINCES STILL CLOSED

OF the four provinces in Region I, only Pangasinan has reopened its borders to the three provinces in the region under the guidelines set for Modified Community Quarantine (MCEQ) assigned by the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF).

The new situation disappointed Department of Labor and Employment Regional Director Nathaniel Lacambra who noted that the difficulty for any one, including officials and employees of government agencies, to get into Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte from La Union and from Pangasinan to La Union.

On the other hand, it is easier for residents of La Union to enter Pangasinan after it relaxed its border control with La Union.

Lacambra told the KBP Forum at DZRD on August 27 that while Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and La Union are also under MGCQ, assigned health and safety protocols are different from those in Pangasinan.

He cited the case of labor inspectors from DOLE regional office in La Union who cannot enter Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte unless they first take the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Reaction (RT-PCR) and submit negative result, which is too costly to be borne by ordinary employees.

Lacambra added that when a government agency wants to deliver supplies and materials to its field offices in Ilocos Norte, the loaded truck could only deliver the supplies to La Union border because it cannot enter Ilocos Sur.

To complete the delivery, he said the supplies have to be picked up by another truck to deliver to the border of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte in Badoc town, increasing delivery cost three times over.

(On August 27, several mini-buses were turned back to Dagupan by policemen manning a checkpoint at the border of Pangasinan and La Union in Rabon, San Fabian when some of their passengers could not present their medical certificates.)

Lacambra said the safety and health protocols implemented in La Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte to protect their citizens from COVID-19 may be good for them but are not in harmony with the rules and regulations promulgated by the Regional IATF for the Management of Infectious Diseases for MGCQ.

He expressed the need for the four Ilocos region provinces to harmonize their safety and health protocols in order to ease travels by their respective constituencies and boost their economic recovery faster. (Leonardo Micua)

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