For safe, swift and smart travel to Zamboanga City without the hustle and bustle of travel restrictions, inbound travellers are once again enjoined to register in S-Pass application prior to actual travel.

City Tourism Officer Sarita Sebastian-Hernandez emphasized during Monday’s virtual presser that S-Pass registration ensures smooth entry to Zamboanga City during this pandemic period, especially now that the city under extended Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) status due the increasing Covid-19 cases.

Hernandez reiterated the call for S-Pass registration as her office had noted a low percentage of inbound travellers with S-Pass.

Data from her office showed that for Manila-Zamboanga there was a 46% S-Pass compliance, 2% from Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte, while travellers from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi with zero percentage.

Hernandez reported 169,120 people came over the city in the past weeks. Of these numbers, about 33,000 were returning residents, 7,253 OFWs and 128,460 APORs (authorized persons outside of residence).

She also reiterated the need for strict implementation of the “No swab, No entry” policy, particularly the RT-PCR negative test result from any and all travellers, regardless of the nature of their travels.

“This is so, because the neighboring provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi including the Zamboanga Peninsula now have the capacity to extract specimens from their constituents then send in here the samples for lab test and the results are out in two to three days.

Under the city’s Covid-19 Ordinance, anybody having entered the city without the RT-PCR negative result will be fined not less than P5,000 and/or imprisonment of six months. Those who would come without such requirement will be denied entry to the city at the ports and border control points, and they will be asked to return back to their respective places of origin.-(Vic Larato)