BUTUAN CITY IMPLEMENTS MODIFIED GENERAL COMMUNITY QUARANTINE STARTING JUNE 1
BUTUAN CITY – On June 1, Monday, Butuan City is placed under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) through the issuance of Executive Order No. 31.
Several guidelines implemented are the mandatory wearing of face mask, social distancing, curfew hours from 10 PM to 4 AM, permitting the consumption of liquor and other alcoholic beverages within a private residence only, and selling or purchasing alcoholic drinks is prohibited from 5:01 PM to 4:59 AM.
Mass gathering including church activities are allowed, provided that participants shall be limited to 50% of the venue capacity.
Parlors, salons, and barbershops are allowed to operate at a maximum of 50% of venue capacity.
Everyone can go outside including senior citizens and minors (20 years old and below).
Furthermore, under E.O 31 Section 16, all persons traveling to Butuan City must fill-up the entry pass at every quarantine control point. According to Butuan LGU spokesperson May Diez, the entry pass is for those who are visiting the city for government and bank transactions only. A mobile application is in development to lessen the hassle of lining up for the form through online registration.
LGU Butuan also clarified that while everyone is already permitted to go outside, the color-coding quarantine pass schedule is still effective in entering grocery stores, department stores, and wet markets to avoid the congestion of people.
BLUE – Mondays and Thursdays
BLACK – Tuesdays and Fridays
RED – Wednesdays and Saturdays
Sunday is for the PWD, pregnant women, and senior citizens that may enter business establishments.
Many questioned the continuous use of quarantine pass because based on the guidelines from the Inter-Agency Task Force, the quarantine pass is not needed in areas under MGCQ. However, according to One Caraga Shield chairman and Agusan del Norte governor Dale Corvera, the use of the said quarantine pass depends on the situation of the safety measures in a certain area.
“That is their way of controlling sa crowd. Remember nga ang Butuan is sentro. Dili lang taga Butuan ang mangumpra diri, naa poy taga laing probinsya, taga Agusan Sur, Agusan Del Norte o Surigao Del Norte. Mao na nga kung dili nimo i-control ang crowd, magtapok tanan, maghawaay kung naay kagaw,” Governor Covera said.
(This is their way of controlling the crowd. Remember that Butuan is the center and not only Butuanons, but also people from other provinces such as Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, and Surigao del Norte come to the markets here. So, if we don’t control the crowd, there will be more chances of spreading the virus.)
The governor further said that the border lockdown is lifted, but the border checkpoints remain to check the validity of visits from other regions. The travel pass is still required when going to another region, province, or city.