MANILA — Parents are not allowed to fetch their children who are stranded in other cities and regions even as government relaxed coronavirus lockdowns, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Wednesday.

"Kahit man gustuhin natin ay hindi pa po nila puwedeng personal na sunduin dahil nga mayroon tayong stay-at-home policy," DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said at the televised Laging Handa briefing.

(Even if wanted to, parents are still not allowed to personally fetch their children because we still have the stay-at-home policy.)

Malaya explained that travel remained limited even in areas that were downgraded to general community quarantine (QCQ).

"Limited pa rin po ang galaw ng tao at hindi puwedeng bumiyahe na lang mula sa probinsiya papuntang Metro Manila ang mga magulang na gustong pauwiin 'yong kanilang mga anak," he said, adding that parents may not be allowed to pass through police checkpoints.

(Movement is still limited and parents who want to bring their children home cannot simply travel from the province to Metro Manila.)

Parents can advise their children to sign up for the government's programs that seek to bring home stranded students, said Malaya.

On Tuesday, Philippine Ports Authority General Manager Jay Santiago said over 10,300 have registered online for the Hatid Estudyante program.

Santiago, who heads the Hatid Estudyante program, said they have made arrangements with 2 local government units to bring home the first batch of stranded students by Thursday.

• Over 10,300 sign up for gov't transport service for stranded students

An earlier survey by the Commission on Higher Education found that over 9,000 tertiary education students were stranded in dormitories and schools nationwide.

Local governments have implemented strict border control as a measure against the spread of the new coronavirus disease. Restrictions are expected to ease in more areas shifting to GCQ by Saturday.