TRAVEL AUTHORITY: NEW GUIDELINES FOR TRAVELERS
BUTUAN CITY – The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has additional guidelines implemented during the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) regarding the use of the Travel Authority when crossing provinces or regions.
Previously, leaving the province or region requires medical certification and travel pass, but now under the new guidelines, the Travel Authority is needed when crossing provincial or regional borders.
However, not everyone can get the Travel Authority. It will depend on the reason for traveling. According to the Police Regional Office (PRO) – 13,
You should obtain Travel Authority (T.A) if:
Traveling to another province or region for emergencies and if you are a ‘locally stranded individual’ (LSI).
Traversing different provinces or regions for non-essential reasons. This means that regardless of your purpose if you are coming from a different province or region, you will need to have a travel authority.
Travel authority (T.A) is not needed if:
You are reporting for work and if you are an ‘authorized persons outside residence’ (APOR) such as police and medical worker. You just have to present an ID.
Traveling within the province for a family emergency, medical emergency, or humanitarian reasons, including locally stranded individuals (LSI).
For example, if you are leaving Nasipit, Agusan del Norte going to RTR, Agusan del Norte, there’s no need for travel authority. Just present your ID and fill-up the entry pass if needed in that area.
Furthermore, if you are a stranded individual who wants to go home within the same province, you just need to show your ID without the need for travel authority.
Meanwhile, you need to have a travel pass and fill-up the entry pass if you are from another province or region and you wish to enter Butuan City for government and banking transactions.
Travel authority is not needed if you are entering Butuan City for accessing basic necessities as long as you are just with the province.
In general, everyone who wishes to enter Butuan City coming from another province or region will need to have travel pass and entry pass regardless of reason, unless you are reporting for work or an authorized person outside residents (APOR).
What are the requirements for T.A:
Barangay certification proving you don’t have symptoms of COVID-19 within 14 days before the travel schedule.
Medical clearance or certificate from the Municipal or City Health Office or DOH accredited.
Police Station 1 of Butuan City Police Office will issue the Travel authority for travel across provinces or cities within the region, while the City director of Butuan City Police Office will issue the T.A for travel to another region.
Once you have the requirements, the barangay can process the T.A for you, so you don’t have to personally visit the police office.
According to Police Lieutenant Abel Bulawan, “Sila na ang Barangay ang mu-process, dili na kamo. Maghulat na lang ka diha sa imong barangay kay ang barangay na ang mudala didto sa CHO, tapos after CHO ilang i-forward na sa atong City Police sa Butuan City para ma-isyuhan ka ug Travel Authority. Then from Butuan City Police ibalik na nila sa barangay. Grupo-grupo na siya para dili na mahasol”.
(The barangay will do the processing of the Travel Authority. They will submit the documents to the City Health Office (CHO), and then forward the requirements to the City Police Office. The City Police Office will issue and give the T.A to the barangay, which will be distributed by groups.)
In the meantime, according to the Butuan City – LGU, the server maintenance for the entry pass online application is still ongoing because of the large number of requests. With this, everyone going to the city is advised to wait until the maintenance is done or to just fill-up the entry pass at the quarantine control point.