Cebu City rolls out color-coded passes

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City government has started the distribution of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) passes to residents of the city.

This as the city was placed under ECQ effective noon yesterday, March 28.

Mayor Edgardo Labella said that to give way to the distribution of the ECQ passes for Cebu City residents through house to house scheme, the strict implementation of the “No pass, no exit” policy will start on April 1.

In the meantime, the person designated to buy food and other basic needs for the household shall present proper identification to law enforcement personnel, in lieu of the ECQ pass.

There will be 200,000 ECQ passes to be distributed to the households in the 80 barangays.

In Guadalupe, which has the most population among all barangays at 80,000, the city is expected to distribute 9,000 ECQ passes.

It is followed by Tisa with 8,500 passes; Basak San Nicolas with 8,000 passes; Mambaling with 7,500; and Lahug and Labangon with 7,000 passes each, to name a few barangays.

Councilor Franklyn Ong, Association of Barangay Councils president, said that during the meeting with barangay captains, they were able to clarify some matters regarding the issuance of ECQ passes.

Ong said that as per the EO, only one member per household may use the pass at a time, and every household is tasked to list down the number of members.

However, he added that the card may be used by a maximum of three members of the household who can be nominated to use it, but it doesn’t mean they all can use it at once.

“Kahibalo ta na naay uban household na duha kabuok pamilya ang gapuyo o tulo, pwede nimo i-nominate ang tulo kabuok maximum makagamit sa card pero one at a time, dili ingon na kamo tulo magdungan og lakaw, dapat mag puli-puli. Ang importante ana kay molakaw para sa essential purpose,” said Ong.

Ong said that for now they are focusing on the distribution. By the next days, they will be finalizing the passes for the renters.

“As of now, in behalf of all the barangay captains, mohangyo gyud ko na let us all be patient, bear with us kay bago gyud ni, magtinabangay lang ta, magsabtanay lang ta kay probably in the next few days mo-normalize ni siya,” said Ong.

He also said that for the barangays that have issued their own passes, they can still use such within their barangay, but the ECQ passes issued by the city are the ones to be strictly used starting April 1.

As stated in the Executive Order No. 65, there is a necessity to issue ECQ passed to strictly regulate the number of individuals who leave their homes to buy essential goods, as well as the number of individuals who go in and out of the city.

The people required to secure ECQ passes are one member per household for city residents; non-residents who are qualified to enter and exit the city who are not exempted under EO 64; residents who are qualified and need to exit and enter the city, unless exempted under EO 64; and all other persons as determined by the city government to secure an ECQ pass.

Only the city government, through the Office of the Mayor or his duly authorized representatives, shall issue the ECQ passes. The distribution may be delegated to the Philippine National Police (PNP), barangay, and other authorized person as may be necessary.

No fees shall be collected for the ECQ passes. These are "absolutely not for sale."

Color-coded

There will be four types of ECQ passes to be issued by the city government that shall be classified by purpose and color.

City residents will get a green pass; officials and employees of government offices will get a red pass; non-city residents will get a blue pass; and crisis management team members and frontliners will get a white pass.

The green passes will be distributed house to house by the police, barangay, and or any authorized person appointed by the Office of the Mayor.

In the meantime, those designated to purchase essentials for a household can present his/her identification to the PNP or Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) if he wishes to go out within the five-day transition period.

For the red passes, government workers should submit a letter-request to the Office of the Mayor personally or through email at [email protected] the subject "GOE- (Name of Office)." It must specify the names and functions of the government officials or employees to be given ECQ passes.

For blue passes, non-residents should submit a letter-request to the Office of the Mayor personally or through email at [email protected] the subject "NR- (Family Name)- (LGU of Residence)." One letter-request shall only be good for one individual.

For the white passes, crisis management teams and frontliners should submit a letter-request to the Office of the Mayor personally or through email at [email protected] the subject "CMTF- (Office, Agency, or Company." It must specify the names and functions of the team members and frontliners to be given ECQ passes.

The application shall be evaluated by the Office of the Mayor. Once approved, the same office shall issue ECQ pass/es to the applicant.

The distribution of the passes will run from March 28 until Tuesday, March 31.  JMD (FREEMAN)