As lockdown was ordered in the National Capital Region (NCR) amid the ongoing threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday clarified that workers living in Metro Manila's nearby provincese will still be allowed entry into the region upon presentation of valid identification cards (IDs).

Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano made the clarification following the approval of a resolution by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases that will suspend land, domestic air and sea travel to and from Metro Manila starting March 15 as part of the ordered community quarantine.

Ano said the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines will establish checkpoints in entry and exit points in NCR for the inspections.

Meanwhile, he said the government will coordinate with private companies for possible work hours adjustment and encouraged those who can work from home to do so to avoid inconvenience.