MANILA, Philippines — Travel authorization is still a requirement for people who are looking to cross borders but are not included in the list of the authorized persons outside residence list despite most parts of the country being under modified community quarantine, the quarantine enforcement task force clarified Wednesday.
In a notice to the public sent to reporters, Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, commander of the Joint Task Force COVID Shield said that a viral social card saying otherwise that was circulating on social media was disinformation that did not come from the task force.
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"This is being made after the JTF COVID Shield was informed by disinformation on social media in an apparent attempt to mislead the public that the National Task Force on COVD-19 has already lifted the restrictions for all travels in any part of the country," Eleazar said.
The graphic, which the task force said resurfaced after it also circulated months ago, claimed that travel authority was no longer required for traveling within Metro Manila and other provinces.
"But it is now being used again to make it appear that it is a new declaration from the JTF COVID Shield purposely to confuse the public and eventually discredit the efforts being made by the national government to contain the spread of the coronavirus," he added.
Eleazar clarified that the requirement stays "if the travels involve crossing the border of Metro Manila, of a province and of a Highly-Urbanized City." — Franco Luna