THROUGHOUT the whole month of October, the Baguio City government has turned away 2,480 travelers, mainly due to the lack of required documents.
Antonette Anaban, chief of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO), told local officials that the number of attempts for entry into the city with improper or insufficient paperwork in October exceeded numbers from August to September combined.
Anaban said that the 2,480 turned away in October exceeded September’s tally of 1,786 visitors, even including August’s 486 tally.
However, Anaban did not mention apprehensions in October, as compared to the 14 apprehensions for document falsification in the past two months.
Also,the city’s border personnel have turned away eight franchise-less vehicles during the month, more than the combined total of August and September at five and two respectively.
According to figures, the city averages 160 refusals of entry to travelers due to paperwork concerns on weekends, but less than half on weekdays, averaging from 40 to 70 travelers turned away per day.
“We should never let our guard down and become complacent despite the welcome news of declining COVID-19 cases. Everyone must continue to observe minimum public-health standards and have themselves vaccinated if they haven’t yet,” Magalong said.
