Malacañang Guidelines for General Community Quarantine (GCQ)

We have to learn to live with it.

The world is moving according to this mantra. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will be here for quite some time until a vaccine is developed, so we have to adjust our lives to the new norm step by step.

With this, there will be areas in the country that will still fall under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), and there are areas that will transition to General Community Quarantine (GCQ).

ECQ until May 15, 2020:

• Metro Manila (National Capital Region)
• Calabarzon (Region IV-A)
• Central Luzon (Region III), except Aurora
• Benguet, including Baguio City
• Pangasinan
• Iloilo
• Cebu, including Cebu City
• Davao City

IMPORTANT NOTE:

• All other regions and provinces not mentioned under ECQ shall automatically fall under GCQ (IATF Resolution No. 29,)
• Starting May 16, all decisions to impose, lift, or extend community quarantine shall rest with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).

WHAT HAPPENS UNDER GCQ?

1. Government offices, salons, and parts of shopping malls will reopen beginning May 1, 2020.

2. There are individuals who will still not be allowed to leave their homes

3. Curfew hours will still be enforced

4. Certain establishments will still remain closed.

WHO MAY GO OUT OF THEIR HOMES UNDER GCQ?

1. You may go out of your homes only to buy basic necessities. EXCEPT:

• Persons 20 years old and below
• Senior citizens
• People with high-risk health issues

2. You will be subjected to mandatory temperature checks, you have to wear a mask outside the house, and you many not consume alcohol in public places. Physical distancing will strictly be observed.

3. Local government units shall impose curfew for non-workers, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

4. Checkpoints will remain in place. You are required to bring a valid I.D. wherever you go. You will still be questioned if you defy the GCQ rules.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, GOVERNMENT OFFICES, OTHER ESTABLISHMENTS DURING GCQ

1. Public transportation may operate but at reduced capacity.

2. Airports and seaports may operate to allow the unhampered movement of goods.

3. All government offices will resume operations.

4. In shopping malls and commercial centers, only non-leisure stores (supermarkets, hardware stores, clothing shops) will be allowed to reopen. Malls will limit the entry of shoppers.

5. Diners are still prohibited from eating in restaurants. Food shops may only do take-out and delivery.

6. Barbershops, salons, spas, and other personal-care businesses will resume operations, subject to strict health standards.

7. Priority construction projects can resume.

8. Publishing activities, and movie, music, and television productions will also be allowed.

WHO ARE ALLOWED TO GO TO WORK DURING GCQ?

1. Selected workers in non-essential services are allowed:

• Electronics
• Exports
• Manufacturing
• E-Commerce
• Delivery
• Repair Services
• Maintenance
• Housing

2. In certain sectors, half of the employees will be working from home, while the other 50 percent will work on site. These sectors include:

• Finance
• Business Process Outsourcing (Bpo)
• Non-Leisure Trade And Service

ESTABLISHMENTS THAT REMAIN CLOSED UNDER GCQ

• Schools
• Amusement Centers
• Gyms, Sports Facilities
• Gambling And Betting Activities
• Libraries And Museums
• Tourism Services

MASS GATHERINGS STILL PROHIBITED UNDER GCQ

• Concerts And Shows
• Festivals
• Trainings And Workshops
• Conferences
• Conventions
• Tournaments
• Rallies And Parades

BUSINESS SECTORS ALLOWED TO OPERATE

• Agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and logging
• Manufacturing and processing plants and the entire value chain (raw materials, inputs, and packaging) of basic good products, essential products, medicine, and medical supplies
• Mining and quarrying
• Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas
• Food manufacturing and supply chain
• Food preparations and water refilling stations
• Power, energy, water, IT and telecommunications supplies and facilities, waste disposal services, sewerage, property management, and building utility services
• Media
• Manufacturing companies and suppliers of construction equipment
• Data gathering, survey activities of the Philippine Statistics Authority for COVID-19, national ID registration
• Publishing activities
• Advertising and market research
• Real estate activities, except buying and selling
• Legal and accounting
• Insurance, reinsurance, and pension funding, except compulsory social security
• Architecture and engineering activities, technical testing and analysis
• Scientific and research development
• Government frontline offices
• Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
• Logistics service providers: cargo handling, warehousing, trucking, freight forwarding, and shipping lines

ESTABLISHMENTS THAT MAY REOPEN UNDER GCQ

• Malls and commercial centers: hardware stores, clothing, and accessories, and non-leisure stores
• Hospitals and medical clinics
• Dental and EENT (eye, ear, nose, throat) clinics
• Veterinary Clinics
• Retail establishments: groceries, supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, public markets, pharmacies, drug stores
• Banks and capital markets
• Accommodation
  • buildings used as quarantine facilities for returning overseas Filipinos, and for temporary accommodation of workers in essential industries like healthcare facilities, banks, BPOs, exporters, and other frontline service sectors
  • Hotels for areas outside Luzon for existing bookings for foreigners or those with long-term bookings; stranded passengers; distressed OFWs; healthcare workers
• Barbershops, salon, spas, and other personal care industries with strict health standards
• Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
• Laundry shops, including self-service machines
• Business process outsourcing companies with temporary accommodation and shuttle services for on-site workers or work-from-home arrangements

SERVICES THAT MAY REOPEN UNDER GCQ

• Repair and installation of machinery and equipment
• Repair of computers and personal and household goods
• Services to buildings and landscape activities, except landscape care
• Employment activities, manpower services for essential activities
• Security and investigation activities
• Rental and leasing, except for entertainment or mass gathering purposes
• Gasoline stations
• Transit of permitted persons to and from allowed establishments
• Funeral and embalming services
• Postal and courier services

STILL CLOSED

• Gyms, fitness studios, and sports facilities
• Sports-related mass gatherings, including but not limited to: trainings, games, tournaments, championships
• Libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural activities
• Gambling and betting activities
• Travel agency, tour operator, reservation service and related activities
• Activities of membership organizations
• Physical classes, but flexible learning arrangements are allowed
• Entertainment-related mass gatherings, including but not limited to: theaters, cinemas, large concerts, festivals, carnivals, conventions, shows, pubs, bars
• Business-related mass gatherings, including but not limited to: trade shows, conferences, conventions, workshops, retreats
• Politically-related mass gatherings, including but not limited to: election rallies, polling centers, parades, speeches, addresses

Public Transportation under GCQ

ALSO READ: Cebu City to be placed under ‘Modified ECQ’ from May 16 to 31