Council recommends requiring tourists from Region 1 to prove residency

September 11, 2020 JUST IN

The city council, in a resolution, has advised the local Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to require local tourists to present valid proof of residency and identity at all points of ingress into the city.
Councilors Mylen Victoria Yaranon and Francisco Roberto Ortega VI, main authors of the resolution, said such move will help authorities ascertain that the local tourists who are about to enter the city are from the Ilocos region.

This stemmed from a recent agreement between the City Government of Baguio and the provincial governments of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte to reopen their borders to tourists from these areas starting September 21.
The legislators said enforcing stricter border control measures such as requiring incoming tourists to show proof of residency and identity will help assure that health risks are in check as the city tries to bounce back from the effects of several lockdowns.
“This additional requirement aims to deter the entry of people from other regions that the City of Baguio has not yet opened its tourism to, especially those from areas heavily ravaged by COVID-19,” the resolution stated.
Earlier, in a meeting with the officials of the LGUs participating in the “bubble tourism”, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said the city is only eyeing tourists from neighboring towns in the Ilocos region that have a low incidence of COVID-19.
Jordan G. Habbling with a report from Liza Agoot/PNA