Palace, LGUs must align policies to avoid chaos: DOJ

MANILA – All local government officials, who are constitutionally under the supervision of the President, must align their policies, resolutions, and ordinances in accordance with the directives of the Chief Executive.

“Otherwise, there will be chaos and disorder in our society,” Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday.

The DOJ chief was referring to two Cebu lawyers’ move to question before the court the government policy requiring Filipinos from abroad to undergo a 14-day quarantine even if they test negative for Covid-19.

Guevarra, however, said they are “most welcome” to contest the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) as it may prevent similar legal tussles in the future.

“The filing of a case by Cebu lawyers is most welcome. It provides a judicial forum for the settlement of an important legal issue that may crop up again in the future,” he told reporters via text message.

Guevarra said the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) will handle the case for the government after lawyers Clarence Paul Oaminal and Valentino Bacalso Jr. on Monday asked that the IATF protocol for returning overseas Filipinos be declared “ineffective and inapplicable” in Cebu province.

The lawyers asked the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City to issue a 72-hour temporary restraining order and to order the IATF to “cease and desist” from implementing Resolution No. 114 that mandates Filipino travelers from abroad, including overseas workers, to undergo quarantine for two weeks regardless of Covid-19 test results.

The order covers the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City.

The province’s swab-upon-arrival policy allows travelers to go home if they test negative but they will be tested again after seven days.

Cebu officials, led by Governor Gwen Garcia, met with President Rodrigo Duterte and Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, on May 31 in Malacañang to discuss the arrival policies.

Guevarra said the IATF resolution remains in force as it was adopted by the President through an enabling executive order.

“As such, these IATF resolutions apply with equal force in every nook and cranny of our country. The IATF is a creation of the President. It is therefore a qualified political agency of the President. Its actions are the actions of the President, unless reprobated by the latter,” he said.