THE City Health Office (CHO) of Cagayan de Oro will no longer issue a medical/health certificate to those who will be using it to acquire the travel pass needed to enter Misamis Oriental.
City Administrator Teodoro Sabuga-a on Thursday, April 16, said the CHO will only provide the medical/health certificate to people who needed it to redeem licenses, as one of the requirements for work, among others.
"Pero kun ang tuyo nimo nga moadto ka sa City Health Office para sa travel pass kay maghatag lagi kuno og travel pass ang Provincial Health Office sa Misamis Oriental, please ayaw na mog adto sa city health," Sabuga-a said.
Sabuga-a added that they will not create another set of guidelines on travel pass as the Authorized Persons Outside Resident (Apor) protocol in checkpoints already exist.
Included in the Apor are the basic services (medical services, funeral services, emergency responders, and security services); daily essentials (banks, money transfer services, groceries/convenience stores/supermarkets/hypermarkets, public markets, pharmacies/drugstores, and food chains/restaurants); essential goods; utilities (telecommunications, energy companies, water companies, and sanitation); and other authorized persons.
"So kun mogawas ka sa imong balay, ang kapulisan nato dili sila gapangayo og health certificate, they are not required. In fact, ang ilang gikinahanglan ID certification lang ug unsa pay other documents nga pagpamatuod nga ikaw essential ba ang imong lakaw karon," Sabuga-a said.
The city administrator said he received reports of Cagayan de Oro residents complaining about how it can be a hassle to acquire the travel pass as they need to pay for the x-ray, a requirement to obtain the medical/health certificate.
"Akong iklaro kini wala mi katuyuan ana nga mamerhisyo. Ang pamerhisyo niini katong gahimo sa polisiya sa mga checkpoints nga wala mismo sa Apor. Sila ang gapamerhisyo niini," Sabuga-a said.
"Gipasa na kini [nga issue] sa Regional Inter-Agency Task Force... we are hoping nga karong adlawa maresolbar kini, nga naay harmony," he added.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) will issue travel pass for free for Kagay-anons who work or will carry out essential activities in Misamis Oriental after the CHO stopped issuing health passes as of Thursday, April 16.
Misamis Oriental provincial task force against Covid-19 lawyer Jeffrey Saclot said those who will secure a travel pass will just have to bring a barangay certification that he/she is not a person under monitoring (PUM) or patient under investigation (PUI).
He said if the barangay refuse to issue a certification, the PHO will still accommodate them.
He said the PHO has already set up a system and it has enough personnel to accommodate those who will get a travel pass.
Saclot also explained that those who have yet to secure a travel pass from their respective town or city heath offices will be allowed entry in checkpoints.
"Amo nang giingnan ang PNP nga katong wala pa ka secure for reasons which are valid kay wala pa kauli gikan sa ilang gitrabahoan palutson lang sa nila kay para makakuha sila og travel pass sa ilang mga health officers," Saclot said.
Saclot also clarified that apart from medical doctors, frontliners manning the checkpoints no longer need travel pass. They will only have to get travel pass if they are off-duty.
On the other hand, food pass of those delivering food and agricultural products already served as travel pass.
Saclot said they are closely coordinating with the PNP in implementing the executive orders of the governor.
