Legazpi City—Two weeks before Christmas Day, Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara finally opens the border control on Thursday, allowing the travelers to go home and visit the province unhampered.
Bichara lifted the checkpoint and border control measures in Albay province after stricter boarding control for almost two years to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Bichara issued an executive order No. 35 series of 2021 lifting the checkpoint and border control on Thursday.
“All checkpoints and border control manned by the Philippine National Police within the province of Albay are hereby lifted,” the governor said.
However, Bichara reiterated that reasonable restrictions may be imposed by local government units in accordance with their respective interagency task force.
“Nevertheless, reasonable restrictions may be imposed by the LGU of destination, which should not be stricter as those prescribed under higher alert levels and subject to the oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of their respective IATF. This order takes effect upon approval and shall remain in effect until lifted,’ Bichara said.
The governor said that lifting the checkpoints and border control would boost the economy that has been badly affected following the stricter community quarantine guidelines in an effort to restrain the spread of the Covid-19.
He said that while the checkpoint and border control imposed by the provincial government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus across the province, however, the economy was impacted badly.
Albay province specifically Legazpi is the Bicol region capital hub and seat of national government agencies wherein vital transactions are being done.
On Thursday, Bichara issued o easing the movement of the public in and out of the regional capital of Bicol region.
Albay is a corridor of all travelers from Luzon-Visayas and Mindanao where cargo trucks, buses or all types of vehicles from Mindanao, Visayan regions heading to Metro Manila pass through Sorsogon ports to Albay going to National Capital Regions and Northern Luzon and vice versa.
With a relaxed border, Bichara said that checkpoints would no longer be imposed since Albay has been placed under more relaxed Alert Level 2 by the Interagency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Disease (IATF) amid a downtrend case of Covid-19 cases.
In accordance with the IATF guidelines on the nationwide implementation of alert level system for Covid-19 response, “intrazonal and interzonal movement shall be allowed,” Bichara said.
With this, Bichara directed the Philippine National Police personnel manning the major checkpoints in Albay’s borders with the provinces of Camarines Sur and Sorsogon to lift its control measure and allow the movement of vehicles and passenger buses unhampered that are entering the province.
Currently, the latest cumulative number of doses administered in Albay province was at 614,794, or about 62 percent of Albayanos inoculated with at least one dose out of the total target population of 987,297, local health records showed with 73 percent vaccination coverage.
(By: Raydes Barcia)