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HomeLocal NewsBacolod outlines use of HQPs, including exemptions

Bacolod outlines use of HQPs, including exemptions

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Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia has signed E.O. 58 s. 2020 also known as An Order to establish the Bacolod City Home Quarantine Pass system and check up points.

The HQPs shall be used effective 3 to 15 September 2020, and subject to extension.

Salient points include strict home quarantine for the following vulnerable sectors: below 21 years old; 6 years old and above; those with immunodeficiencies, comorbidities, or other health risks, regardless of age; pregnant women; any person who resides with the any of those previously mentioned.

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The E.O says that new issuances HQP’s will be coordinated with the respective Barangays to regulate the movement of Bacolodnons within the city, and its use is purely to help each household access to its basic provisions for food, medicines, health, and other essential commodities and services.

It is not for sale and neither would it entail any cost for its issuance.

Each household shall be issued an HQP primarily to one household member who is of competent age and discretion (at least 21 years old and above) but it may be passed on to a maximum of three other qualified members of the same household whose names shall be duly written at the back portion of the HQP.

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Only one of these authorized holders shall be out of the household, at any given time, when using the HQP.

Household members who shall take turns in using the HQP at any given time shall carry it at all times while outside the household and present it, upon inspection, with a valid personal I.D. with picture.

HQP holders with passes ending in the odd numbers — 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 – shall be permitted to leave their households and use the HQP on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays;

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HQP holders with passes ending in the even numbers – 2, 4, 6, 8, 0 – shall be permitted to leave their households on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

HQPs are not valid Sundays and no HQP holder shall be permitted to leave their households on that day.

The following shall not be issued HQPs, except when their presence is indispensable at work, exercise of profession, management of a business concern as owner thereof, or if they live alone with no one else to attend to their needs: below twenty-one (21) years old; sixty years old and above; those with immune deficiencies, comorbidities, or other health risks, regardless of age; pregnant women; and those who live with any of them.

The HQP cannot be used as a travel pass through other towns and cities outside of Bacolod City.

Any misuse or abuse in the use of the HQP shall be subject to prosecution under applicable laws. To regulate social distancing and limit the movements of people, the use of the HQP shall be on an odd-even scheme thus:

Those exempted are government officials and employees who are required to work on-site to ensure the delivery of public services who if indispensable, may also include members of the vulnerable sectors;

medical and non-medical frontliners and emergency responders of public and private entities who are required to work on-site to ensure the delivery of their services;

private sector employees who are required to work on-site in offices and businesses permitted by the National InterAgency Task Force/Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to operate during whatever community quarantine category is currently approved by said national authorities, who if indispensable, may also include members of the vulnerable sectors;

business owners who need to supervise their businesses or stores who if indispensable, may also include members of the vulnerable sectors;

self-employed individuals whose occupations require them to render essential services to the community (e.g. drivers of public transport vehicles);

living-alone member of vulnerable sectors who has to procure food, medicines, and other essential goods and services for himself/herself;

All persons requiring medical consultations, treatments and therapies (with a companion, if needed);

Any other individual/s that the barangay may allow on special case-to-case basis for justifiable reasons as provided in other sections hereof.

To claim exemptions from home quarantine rules, minimum documents are required for presentation, when outside of residence, upon request of barangay or police authorities or traffic enforcers at check-up points or at public places and streets.

Government employees, frontliners, and private workers who need to be on site and who need to claim exemptions should present a valid company/employment ID with picture;

Business owners and the self-employed who are claiming exemptions should present a copy of their 2020 business permit and valid personal ID with picture;

living-alone member of vulnerable sectors who has to procure food, medicines, and other essential goods and services for himself/herself, or those allowed by their barangays for special reasons should present the HQP and valid personal ID with picture;

Those with medical reasons should present the pertinent medical certificate and personal ID with picture for the patient; HQP and personal ID with picture for the companion.

Bacolod residents with jobs or businesses other than sugar farms outside of Bacolod will have to present their company /employment I.D. with picture (for employees) or 2020 business registration issued by the out-of-town LGU (for businessmen).

However, should their destination-LGU require a pass from said LGU or from the Provincial Government to authorize travel within the territorial jurisdiction of the province, said employees or businessmen shall be responsible for securing such pass for themselves as may be required from the pertinent offices of that LGU concerned or the Provincial Government, as the case may be.

Travel permits/passes issued by other LGUs or by the Provincial Government shall be honored only in the territorial jurisdiction of said entities and cannot be used as entry/exit documents into or out of Bacolod.

On return to Bacolod from out-of-town work or business, a valid personal I.D. with picture indicating a home address in Bacolod will be sufficient exemption document to enter City limits.

Bacolodnon sugar planters with farms in the city or out of town may request their barangays to issue them a special HQP.

This, however, cannot be passed on to other members of his household but shall be for the exclusive use of that sugar planter alone.

The back portion of this HQP should, therefore, be blocked out and, instead, marked as “NON-TRANSFERABLE”.

This special HQP shall be in addition to the regular HQP for his household.

Exemptions shall be granted only after presentation of proof of ownership or lease of the sugar farm/s owned or operated within the city or out-of-town.

Every sugar farm in Bacolod or outside of Bacolod owned or operated by Bacolodnons shall also be issued a maximum of two (2) special non-transferable HQPs for its staff, whether they are Bacolod residents or not, to facilitate their travels within City limits and for exit from Bacolod and/or returning to Bacolod.

Use of these special non-transferrable HQPs shall be supported with valid personal I.D. with pictures and employment I.D./certificate of employment issued by the sugar planter concerned. All other provisions under Section 6.a. hereof shall likewise be applicable for these special HQPs to be given the staff of such sugar farms.

Should the farms be located in the territorial jurisdiction of the province of Negros Occidental, the Bacolodnon sugar planter shall be responsible for further securing for himself and for his pertinent farm staff whatever travel permits/passes may be imposed by the outside LGU concerned or by the Provincial Government, as the case may be.

These travel permits/passes issued by other LGUs or by the Provincial Government shall be honored only in the territorial jurisdiction of said entities and cannot be used as entry/exit documents into or out of Bacolod.

Transport of essential goods and supplies shall not be hampered. However, each person inside the transport vehicle (limited only to the driver and not more than four helper-companions), whether they are residents of Bacolod City or from out-of-town, shall submit the following documents at border check-up points, to be allowed to enter into or exit from the City in their delivery vehicles:

For the driver – Valid/current driver’s license;
For everyone including the driver: employment I.D. with picture; negative RT-PCR result for COVID-19, which shall be considered valid within 14 days from release date.

Other out-of-towners shall be allowed to enter into and exit from the City only if they are: Public officials/employees of:
the Provincial Governments of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental;
all LGUs in Negros Occidental;
national government agencies and their regional offices;
members of Congress and their staff;
members of the judiciary and their staff
who are to undertake official business/emergency response activities in the City.
a.2. Private sector employees who have to work on-site in the City;

Business owners who have to physically supervise their stores in the City;

People in the act of transporting essential goods, prime commodities, and any type of cargo in bulk;

People in the act of delivering construction materials for public or private construction projects; patients (and their companions/drivers) who are being transported on medical emergencies or for scheduled consultations/therapies/treatments at health facilities/clinics in the City;

Students who need to attend face-to-face classes at higher education institutions; people who are transiting through the City to reach other towns/cities to the north, south, or east of the City;

members of volunteer organizations in the act of undertaking humanitarian projects or responding to emergencies/disasters in the City.

Any out-of-towner who wishes to enter the City but does not fall under any of the above categories shall be subject to health protocols that may be imposed by city health authorities, such as quarantine in a city government or private facility up to a maximum of 14 days and RT-PCR swab tests thereat, with all costs for quarantine and swab test to be borne by said out-of-towner.

Whenever possible, Negrense out-of-town residents who usually personally shop for essential supplies like food, medicines, and other commodities in Bacolod are advised to patronize business establishments in their places of residence or in towns/cities closest to them for such requirements so that purchases can now be arranged between business establishments in the City and those located out-of-town instead, and for the out-of-town buyer/s to just pick up their orders from establishments in their places of residence or in towns/cities closest to them instead of coming over to Bacolod for it. Many establishments in Bacolod are already offering delivery services of pre-ordered items, and out-of-town residents are urged to make use of this service, if also available to them.

The same advice goes to Negrense out-of-towners who come to Bacolod for their banking needs.

Travel into Bacolod for leisure or for social/visiting purposes will not be allowed.

Minimum entry/exit documents for out-of-towners required for presentation, upon inspection at border check-up points.

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Hannah A. Papasin
Hannah A. Papasinhttp://facebook.com/hannah.mariveles
Writer. Critic. Professor. She started writing since primary school and now has two published textbooks on communication. A film buff, she's a Communication, Media Literacy and Journalism Professor of the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod, and has a Master's Degree in English.
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