Local police commanders now allowed to issue travel authority

By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan 

JTF CV Shield commander, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar. (Contributed photo)

MANILA – Chiefs of police (COPs) and station commanders are now allowed to issue travel authority to locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and essential travels, the Joint Task Force Covid Shield (JTF CV Shield) said on Friday.

"Kanina lamang ay nagbigay ng guidance ang ating (Philippine National Police) chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa na puwede na pong mag issue ngayon ng travel authority ang mga COPs at station commanders natin (Earlier this morning, our PNP chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa gave guidance that our COPs and station commanders can now issue a travel authority)," JTF CV Shield commander, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said in a Laging Handa briefing.

He said this will make travel between provinces and regions easier for LSIs provided that they will comply with the medical certificate requirement given the city or municipality where they come from.

The medical clearance certificate is essential in determining the health condition of those who would travel, particularly to determine if they are cleared of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

"Our COPs or station commanders, in the case of numbered police stations, will allow that as long as we have the requirements such as medical clearance certificate," Eleazar said.

Eleazar said the COPs and station commanders, through their help desks, will be the ones to coordinate with the local government unit destination of the applicants through the local police stations. Once the coordination is completed, the travel authority will be issued to the applicants.

Police officers manning the help desk would notify the person to pick up the hard copy of the travel authority, or, the travel authority could be sent via e-mail or any messaging apps like Messenger or Viber.

For LSIs at airports, Eleazar said the PNP Aviation Security Group through its local officers can issue a travel authority for those who have their medical clearance certificate.

"Ngayon kung wala kayong medical certificate at dala lang is certificate from the barangay na nag-quarantine kayo, meron po tayong doktor doon na puwede kayong i-check at bigyan ng medical clearance certificate (For those who don't have a medical certificate but you have a certificate from the barangay proving that you have undergone quarantine, we have a doctor there who can check on you and issue a medical clearance certificate)," he added.

Data from the task force showed 57,000 copies of travel authority were issued for LSIs and people traveling for indispensable reasons such as medical and family emergencies.

For more information about the issuance of travel authority, Eleazar said the public can contact the JTF CV Shield via these hotlines: 0998-849-0013 for Smart users and 0917-538-2495 for Globe users.

The JTF CV Shield can also be reached through its email address: ncovmonitoring@gmail.com.

The PNP Helpline 16677 can also be contacted for request for assistance and concerns on Travel Authority. (PNA)