Angeles City—Mayor Carmelo Lazatin has ordered 24-hour checkpoints here to restrict the movement of foreigners as a health and safety precaution against spread of the novel coronavirus.
Lazatin said checkpoints will be deployed in strategic places to prevent the entry and exits of foreign nationals from countries like China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Japan, Iran, and Italy.
The checkpoints started at midnight Tuesday and will continue until further public notice from government authorities, he added.
The restriction will not apply to thousands ofKoreans already residing in the city, mostly small and medium enterprise owners along the Friendship Road in Barangay Anunas, but to those who wish to enter the city.
Lazatin said putting up the city checkpoints was approved by the regional offices of the Department of Health and Department of Interior and Local Government.
“It was approved during an emergency meeting with Director Cesar Cassio and Director Martin Mora of DILG and DOH respectively,” he said.
At the same time, the mayor also ordered hotels and inns to report all foreign travelers from countries severely hit by the coronavirus who are still staying in their establishments.
He said any travelers who would remain in the city should be reported to the Angeles City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office open 24/7 with 0917 851 9581 (Globe) and 0998 842 7746 (Smart).
In an official letter sent to Korean Ambassador Han Dong-Man to the Philippines, Lazatin said: “We understand that this temporary restriction could cause inconvenience to Korean nationals who wish to enter the city. We need to take this precautionary measure in the face of this highly contagious disease in order to protect not just our local residents but other Koreans already residing in Angeles City.”
There is “nothing personal” about the deployment of checkpoints, the mayor said, but merely the city’s response to protect its people against Covid-19, which has already caused panic and anxiety worldwide.
Lazatin said that in this time of universal uncertainty, the health and safety of the 411,600 residents of the city is his “primordial interest.”
P/Col. Joyce Patrick Sangalang, city chief of police, was ordered to strictly monitor the entry of foreign travelers in the city “immediately and effectively.”
As of today, no foreign or local contamination is reported in the city.
The mayor is also scheduled to meet with the officials of the Department of Education, private and public school for city-wide disinfection, which the city will shoulder.