ACCOMMODATION establishments are allowed to have limited operations especially if they have guests checked in before the start of the “enhanced community quarantine” announced by the Duterte administration on Monday.
The Inter-Agency Task Force also lifted the 72-hour deadline given to airline passengers — balikbayans, overseas Filipino workers, and foreign tourists — to leave Luzon for their international flights, according to a source who attended Tuesday’s meeting. That 72-hour deadline would have fallen on March 19.
The source added, those who have flights scheduled to leave after March 19, just have to “go to the airport on the day of departure.” The lifting of the 72-hour deadline, the source emphasized, was “pushed” by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, and will be “formalized” in a new set of guidelines.
The Luzon-wide lockdown is aimed at containing the spread of the Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19).
Meanwhile, in a Viber message to the BusinessMirror, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez clarified, “Tell them to operate while they have guests who checked in prior to 3/16 (March 16),” in response to questions from hotels if they should shut down due to the Luzon-wide lockdown.
He assured the hotel owners that “No,” they would not be arrested if they continue to operate their establishments, but added that they should also write Romulo Puyat or Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation Arturo P. Boncato Jr. to inform the latter of the situation with their guests. Boncato’s office handles the accreditation of tourism enterprises and frontliners, and has oversight over them.
Dominguez heads the economic cluster of the Duterte administration. Several messages sent to Romulo Puyat and Boncato about the issue remained unanswered as of press time.
Based on data available on the Department of Tourism’s (DOT’s) web site, as of February 2020 there were 792 accredited hotels, resorts, and mabuhay accommodations (pensions, inns, homestays) in the National Capital Region (NCR); the Cordillera Administrative Region; Regions 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon), 4-A (Calabarzon), and 4-B (Mimaropa). No data on accredited accommodations were available for Region 1 (Ilocos Norte).
During the press conference on Monday evening after President Duterte announced the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon, Cabinet Secretaries weren’t quite sure yet what to do with the hotels and the tourists.
Asked by a reporter what will be the policy on hotels, Cabinet Secretary and IATF Spokesman Karlo Nograles said, “Well, so they live in other provinces, if they’re within Luzon, then they will have to go back to their provinces. Pag Visayas, Mindanao we’ll have to…”
Jumping in, Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año said, “Well actually, we will close them, tapos sabi nga, ‘as is where is.’ If there are stranded who are not from there, we will make accommodations with the owner if they can be accommodated. That will be his quarantine area, but it will be privately [coordinated]. The hotel is closed, but some stranded foreigners or tourists, if they decide to stay there [can].”
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