359 travelers sans papers turned away at city’s borders in three days
In just three days, October 1 to 3, Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) personnel sent back 359 travelers to their places of origin after it was found at the city’s borders that they either had no documents or lacked the needed papers to enter the Summer Capital.
That’s an average of almost 120 persons turned away daily at the start of the month.
This was revealed by City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief Antonette Anaban during the virtual management committee meeting of local officials, October 5, led by Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
She presented updates on the city’s Delta variant contingency plan where stricter border control is one of the plan’s 20 key result areas.
The whole months of August and September saw a total of 486 and 1,786 individuals, respectively, sent packing home at the borders for having no documents or lack thereof, Anaban said.
Baguio’s borders are located at Marcos Highway, Tuba Viewdeck, Irisan, Magsaysay,Longlong Tacay, Tiptop, Kias, Asin Tadiangan, Ambiong and at Baguio-Tuding.
Police authorities also apprehended five colorum vehicles in August and two in September.
The Mayor earlier ordered the BCPO under P/Col. Glenn Lonogan to enforce stricter control of the city’s borders due to the current surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases mostly due to its more infectious Delta variant.
The contingency plan’s other key result areas are: Monitoring of compliance with MPHS; MPHS in establishments and workplaces; expanded age-based restrictions; limited mass gathering; conduct of classes, board review, registration, examinations within Baguio; promote use of telemedicine/telecommunication; management of the dead; implementation of rolling stores and market-to-home delivery; and vaccination program.
Expanded risk-based/targeted testing; aggressive contact tracing; isolation/quarantine policy and increase in bed capacities; community/granular lockdown; monitoring of critical care utilization; augmentation of health workers; inventory/procurement of critical equipment; stockpiling of critical supplies and medicines; real-time referral and coordination of cases; mental health and wellness programs, are the other key result areas. Gaby B. Keith
