BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Despite the easing of travel restrictions in Negros Occidental, Cadiz City’s Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said they were further tightening control of their sea borders.
According to Escalante, they have been coordinating with the police and Philippine Coast Guard in safeguarding their 40-kilometer shoreline facing the Visayan Sea.
The mayor also activated their barangay networks, especially in coastal areas.
“I told residents of coastal areas that if they allow their relatives to dock without going through our protocols and they bring with them the virus, they will be the first to be infected,” Escalante said.
Last week, a vessel carrying 10 people from Bantayan Island in Cebu docked at the city’s shoreline, the city mayor revealed.
Escalante described such arrival as “deceitful,” but thanked residents for their immediate coordination with local authorities. The 10 individual were subsequently brought to the city’s quarantine facility.
Escalante was also concerned that people from Masbate and Romblon may use Bantayan Island as “jump-off” point heading to Negros.
While the city has yet to roll out its coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination program, its ferry services to the neighboring island will remain suspended./PN
