Palace ‘respects’ Sagada execs’ rejection of SONA video shoot

By Azer Parrocha and Gina Dizon 

MALACANANG on Tuesday said it respects the decision of the municipality of Sagada, Mountain Province to reject the request of a delegation from Malacañang Presidential Broadcast Staff (MPBS), including director Joyce Bernal, to shoot videos in the famous tourist spot amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said while the team had secured health certificates and travel authorities, they complied with the rules of the Sagada local government.

“Rinespeto naman ni Joyce Bernal at ng RTVM ang desisyon ng Sagada. Inuulit ko po, meron namang pong health certificate at travel authority po si Joyce Bernal at ang mga kasama niya pero nung hindi sila pinapasok, di naman po sila nagpumilit (Joyce Bernal and RTVM respect the decision of Sagada. I repeat, they have health certificates and travel authorities but when they were not allowed to enter, they did not insist),” he said.

In a Facebook post on Monday, the Sagada local government said the request of the RTVM was rejected both by the Office of the Sagada Mayor and the Sagada Municipal Disaster Risk and Management Office.

They disclosed that Bernal’s team sent an email about the conduct of the video shoot to the Office of the Sagada mayor “after office hours” on July 3.

It also said Bernal and her team will be arriving in Sagada by night of July 5.

The Sagada officials, however, only received word that Bernal’s team will be arriving on July 5.

This prompted the Officer in Charge and  Vice Mayor  Felicito Dula  and the Municipal Disaster Risk and Management Officer (MDRRMO) Aida Abeya to convene a meeting with the Local Covid-19 Task Force which ultimately decided against the request of Bernal and her team.

“While the meeting was ongoing, the advance party of Direk Joyce were being escorted by our Phil. National Police to Sagada Cellar Door where they will be staying, after the management of Sagada Heritage Village turned them down following the local guideline that all tourism establishments continue to be suspended/closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the post read.

Sagada Heritage Village is near the famed Sumaguing Caves.

The Sagada LGU also wrote a letter to Bernal's team, saying the strict implementation on the entry of persons coming outside Mountain Province to Sagada has been effective in maintaining a Covid-19-free community.

"Sagada, being a 5th-class municipality, is not ready, specifically our health facilities, to accommodate the presence of a Covid-19 positive case in the locality," the letter read.

Bernal and her group are now filming the video-scenic backdrop for the SONA in Baguio City.

Both Sagada mayors James ‘Payko’ Pooten Jr. and John Wesley Dulawan of Ifugao said Bernal’s team was barred from filming in their towns to protect their constituents’ health and lives.

SAgada Vice Mayor Felicito Dula  in a letter to Fern Castro, coordinator of Bernal’s team, said the health and safety of the town’s constituents were crucial and needed to be ensured.

               Escorted by police, the team left town 10 a.m. of June 6 after spending the night at Cedar Door.

The Sagada IATF, in a letter to Bernal’s group cited Sangguniang Bayan resolution No 110 series of 2020 governing tourism commerce and industry in Sagada during the covid-19 pandemic.

This included closure and suspension of tourism activities such as booking of guests  by establishments, all tourist sites  and other concerns related to tourism and non-entry of non-residents to the town coming from ‘red areas’.

Metro Manila where the team came from is a ‘red’ district area with 20,100 Covid-19 infected persons and 865 deaths as of July 5.

Local officials said the team reportedly entered to Sagada showing a letter to local officials from Malacanang Presidential Broadcast Staff-RTVM authorizing the travel of 14 persons to start production of video for the SONA signed by Dennis Wilfred Pabalan, PBS-RTVM executive director.

Marina Biag former president of the Sagada Inns and Homestays Association (SIHA) said there was an understanding among inns and homestays that they will not reopen while the Covid-19 pandemic was a threat.

Biag said she did not know of any inn or homestay which had a permit to operate.

The Department of Tourism in its Administrative Order 2020-002 provides, “all accommodation establishments that intend to commence commercial operations in community quarantine zones, whether for the accommodation of guests or operation of in-house food facilities for takeout or delivery services, shall secure a DOT Certificate of Authority to Operate prior to any operations.”

In said AO, “limited operations are observed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) where accommodation establishments may undertake normal operations under MGCQ and may accommodate bookings of all guests, whether for work or leisure; provided, that operations shall be at 50% operational capacity only.”

Sagada is now under MGCQ status and has suspended tourism activities to include booking of guests in inns and homestays.

Cellar Door is not registered with the municipal government as a homestay or inn.

In his reply to Facebook when asked why Pascual was booked at Cellar Door, manager Andrew Chinalpan said Pascual and Bernal were friends so he and his wife accommodated them to their house.

Municipal disaster risk reduction management council officer Aida Abeya said the LGU denied the entry of Pascual and group in an earlier verbal communication on July 3.

Abeya said she was shocked when she learned that Pascual and four others were already in Sagada morning of July 5 and the rest to be arriving night of the same day which prompted the local IATF to meet and talk with Bernal.

Asked what documents the team was carrying to allow them entry to Sagada, PNP information officer Raffy Pinayakan said a letter from PBS-TRVM was shown them.

Sagada has no Covid case and had been following lockdown systems and 14-day quarantine protocols.

Right after leaving Sagada on July 6, the team proceeded to Banaue, Ifugao and were met at Mt. Polis at the boundary of Mountain Province and Ifugao.

They were denied to stay in Banaue when they requested permission to shoot in Barangay Battad.Banaue

Mayor Dulawan said town police escorted them out from the town up to the boundary of Mt. Amganad.

This, even if they presented documents from Malacanang they earlier presented to Sagada officials. According to Banaue police, the group travelled on to Baguio City after the incident.

Ramon Cabrera, general manager of Camp John Hay Manor in Baguio told local media the entourage of Bernal and Pascual checked in at the hotel on Monday night around 9:30 p.m. after going through triage process at Teachers Camp by presenting their health clearances and Malacanang documents.              

The Baguio City government said Bernal’s team was allowed to stay in Baguio because they followed health protocols.     

The team was reportedly earlier scheduled to visit Sagada and Bontoc towns of Mt. Province; Banaue, Ifugao; Kalinga, Abra and Baguio City

Meanwhile, Roque said President Duterte was expected to deliver his fifth SONA by either physically showing up at the House of Representatives Session Hall in Batasan Pambansa, or virtually.