BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Bus trips between Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental are yet to resume, although discussions are underway, according to Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Negros Oriental haven’t slowed. The Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force recorded 855 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. Its capital city Dumaguete recorded 229 new cases followed by the town of Sibulan with 72; Bayawan City with 70; and Canlaon City with 47.
Diaz said Negros Occidental’s Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson convened the Provincial Incident Management Team (PIMT) and discussed Oriental’s COVID situation.
Based on their assessment, Diaz said, there is “more risk” on the part of Negros Occidental if it allows the resumption of transportation.
“[Negros Oriental] is at Level 4, which is high risk, while we are at Level 2, which is low risk,” Diaz said.
He also noted it maybe “counterproductive” for Negros Occidental to allow “unchecked” travel between the two provinces.
But this will be resolved soon, according to Diaz, citing Negros Occidental’s acceptance of fully-vaccinated individuals sans the negative results of their reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests.
“We hope soon na mag-improve ang situation nila sa Negros Oriental. Once it is safe, we will resume normal transportation within this island,” Diaz said.
Currently, only private vehicles are allowed to travel between the two provinces. Travelers are required to register via the S-PaSS system and authorities are strictly inspecting every vehicle upon entry.
Diaz said they would meet again with Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), operator of Ceres Liner and Ceres Tours.
Earlier, the Negros Occidental provincial government could have approved the resumption, but it was shelved due to the threat of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus causing COVID-19.
Based on the initial conditions, only vaccinated passengers can board the buses, otherwise they have to present a negative RT-PCR test result.
Previously, the Negros Occidental provincial government proposed that bus trips be “point-to-point”, meaning drivers are not allowed to bring in passengers in between destinations, and passengers are also not allowed to disembark prior to reaching the terminal.
The move aims to make sure they can easily track the movement of the travelers, Diaz said in an earlier interview.
VTI will discuss its travel resumption proposal with Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo./PN
