Baguio mayor warns folks, tourists: Follow health rules

‘Establishments violating Covid rules’ 

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- Tourists and business establishments catering to the industry were urged to comply with the city’s health and safety protocols against Covid-19.
    Mayor Benjamin Magalong said the threat of the Delta variant has not been totally stamped out and possibility of case saddling or rebound remains needing cooperation of people.
    He said the city set in place control measures like entry and vaccination requirements for leisure travelers and vaccination and health and safety standards for businesses to maintain caution while reopening the economy but all sectors must do their part to avoid compromising the health and safety of both the residents and visitors. 
    "As I have said, although it is hard, we will continue to strike a balance between seeing to the health and safety of our constituents and sustaining our economy but everyone must do his share including our visitors," he said.
    Supervising City Tourism Operations Officer Aloysius Mapalo also appealed to visitors to comply with entry requirements and to follow the minimum public health standards and to the tourism establishments to comply with the health protocols.
    “The best way for us to move forward is for all of us to cooperate with the regulations that the city government is imposing,” he said.
     The Baguio Tourism Council earlier appealed to the city government to reopen the tourism industry even on guarded terms to sustain the livelihood of thousands of industry workers affected by the lockdowns caused by the Delta variant-driven new surge.
    The group said the industry has enough safeguards as tourism and economic sector frontliners had been 100 percent fully vaccinated and the establishments now well-versed with the existing health and safety protocols.
    The City Tourism Operations Office urged residents to report tourism establishments violating entry and health and safety protocols to their office with tel. no. 446-2009 following reports of such.
    Mapalo said  following the city’s reopening to leisure travels subject to requirements and restrictions, his office received reports on some unregistered accommodation establishments illegally accommodating tourists.
    He said this is a cause for alarm as the tourists being catered to by these illegal businesses are those who themselves failed to comply with the safety requirements of the city like pre-registration and full vaccination.
    “Sadly, despite our restrictions, these unscrupulous people still find a way to skirt our rules,” he said.
    He encouraged unlisted accommodation businesses to register their establishments with the tourism office, secure business permits, compliance certificate and Safety Seal to be able to operate legally.
    Otherwise, errant establishments should be reported and dealt with.
     He also reminded legally operating establishments to strictly comply with the health and safety protocols after reports on lapses by some companies reached his office.