Balabac authorities said Thursday they are not letting their guard down on border control even with the downgrading of the province’s COVID-19 status to a general community quarantine (GCQ) starting Friday.
The municipal inter-agency task force (IATF) against COVID-19 said it even intends to intensify its measures to prevent unauthorized entry of people into the town.
Municipal disaster risk reduction officer and inter-agency task force (IATF) co-chairman Mitra Tanjalani told Palawan News the town remains a backdoor entry from Malaysia and needs to be alert for any intrusion that could lead to a health problem.
“Kahit na mapapabilang ang Palawan sa GCQ sa Mayo, hindi kami maging kampante dito sa Balabac, lalo pa’t napakalapit natin sa Malaysia at China,” he told Palawan News over the weekend.
“Patuloy pa din ang mga naka-deploy namin na mga personnel dito kasama ang Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) natin at babantayan ang mga mangingisdang lalabas,” Tanjalani added.
He said travel between islands will also be restricted, including Mangsee to Malaysia.
“Plano din namin na gumawa ng guidelines para dito, pero pagdating sa katiyakan ng mga isla natin talagang kahit nasa GCQ na tayo maghihigpit pa rin kami sa Balabac. Pag-uusapan din namin ni Mayor (Shuaib) Astami ang mga posibleng pagsunod dito at ang mga national advises at protocols,” he said.
