Feature: S-PASS and the ordeal of traveling during pandemic

By Rene V. Carbayas

Travelling has not been easy for most Filipinos during the pandemic. But for many APORs or Authorized Persons Outside of Residence travelling for necessity is not much of a choice and have to hurdle the ordeal of traveling during the pandemic.

If one is traveling, be ready with all the hassles, anxieties, and tensions that might occur with receiving local government units (LGU) or your destination. Here’s what you need to consider before travelling.

 

See to it that you check the requirements to enter into your destination LGU including in the areas where you pass-through towards your final destination. I assure you they all differ in their requirements, because that depends on the kind of quarantine protocols they are into. Double check if the LGU destination would require the RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) test and the S-PaSS (Safe, Swift and Smart Passage). However, these two are being treated differently and not always complementing.

Some LGUs would require swab or saliva RT-PCR tests with an average of 72 hours validity. Again, you need to really check this from your LGU destination. For some of the information are not indicated in the S-PaSS. The 72 hours validity peg is sometimes tricky, because some LGUs does not allow you to use the same negative RT-PCR from your point of origin when you return within 3 days (or within 72 hours), especially in high-risk areas with alarming COVID-19 cases. You have to undergo another test when coming back home. No mercy for one-hour lapsed RT-PCR test.

 

Here’s the ordeal. You are NOT assured to take the flight even if you have already submitted your RT-PCR test negative result through the S-PaSS. LGU destination like Zamboanga City is very strict in validating your negative RT-PCR results seriously. They do not care if you are not able to catch your flight on time. Airlines, like the Philippine Airlines (PAL) won’t allow you to board without an approved S-PaSS or your Travel Coordination Permit (TCP).

 

If hours have past and your S-PaSS remains “pending”, you have to scramble to call or find numbers to call for approval. Airlines provide assistance on this but LGU destination barely respond to the inquiries. Either the hotline numbers are busy or could not be reached. One could imagine the number of travelers that LGU destination have to process requests. If this situation persists and created problems, then there is something wrong with the system in place.

 

In its website, the slogan FOR HASSLE-FREE TRAVEL, PASS THROUGH WITH DOST’S S-PASS may not be true. S-PaSS, launched on 26 March 2021, is an online system primarily intended to efficiently manage travels of Filipino local workers, Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFS), local tourists, and others who need to go on business from one province to the other.

 

DOST’s website say that this app is “utilized in two ways: as a Travel Management System which is a convenient online communication and coordination platform for travelers, Local Government Units, and other monitoring agencies, and as a Local Mobility Management System which replaces the use of pen-and-paper logbooks for visitors and personnel of public and private companies, schools, and other institutions or organizations.”

“For travelers, accessible information on the travel policies of all LGUs particularly when traveling by air and sea can be obtained. Usually, a health declaration form/medical certificate or a Travel Authority or both is needed for the traveler to pass through borders. Sometimes, it can be confusing to those who travel for work, vacation, or business as each LGU has their own list of guidelines. But with S-PaSS, the needed requirements can be identified easily. The travelers can be guided whether the area of destination is ‘Restricted’ or ‘Unrestricted’, which is duly updated by the LGUs responsible. If the LGU is on a ‘Restricted’ level, a ‘Travel Coordination Permit (TCP)’ should be applied, however, if the LGU is declared as ‘Unrestricted’, yet, the traveler needs to pass through ‘Restricted’ LGUs, a ‘Travel Pass-Through Permit (TPP)’ can be generated and presented. S-PaSS is to be used before and during actual travel.”

This is more challenging when one travels by air. Unfortunately, not all LGUs use the S-PaSS. Davao and Cagayan de Oro have their own traveler’s management system that S-PaSS do not indicate. Here lies the problem. The S-PaSS is supposed to be a national system and yet not all big cities and LGUs are utilizing them, for whatever reasons. The S-PaSS require higher internet connectivity in order to process requests. We know that internet connection is a problem in the Philippines. For the poor traveler, this is another story. You’ll end up spending more when you are caught up stranded in the airports and terminals because of these requirements. And no one do care!

 

The airline staff affirmed that LGU-Zamboanga City is the most difficult entry point for travelers and returning residents. Some travelers, too, encountered at the airport would claim the same story. 

 

The local task force would argue that they are doing all efforts to fast track the approval of S-PaSS TCP, but points to delayed or non-reply from RT-PCR laboratories as cause of the delay or non-approval of entry in Zamboanga City. The city claims that they have filed cases versus individuals who were caught faking their negative RT-PCR results, thus the heightened restrictions. No honest traveler would argue on this reason why the LGU is very strict in validating RT-PCRs. Honest travelers only hope that they would not suffer just because of the mistakes of a few. Policies and systems should always try to ease and facilitate the travels of the general travelers, while being keen for fraud travelers.

 

With the more contagious Delta variant, more and more LGUs are tightening their borders with strict measures and requirements. So, when you plan to travel at this time of pandemic, you better think twice if the travel is necessary. If so, then be ready to face the ordeal when traveling in times of the pandemic. (EDT/RVC/PIA9/20210908)