BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Only the go-ahead signal from the provincial government of Negros Occidental and Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), operator of Ceres Liner and Ceres Tours, is needed for bus trips to resume between the province and Negros Oriental. The latter downgraded to the gentler coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Alert Level 2.
Negros Oriental’s Gov. Roel Degamo signed Executive Order No. 44, adopting the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, according to Bimbo Miraflor, capitol spokesperson. It allows VTI to resume bus trips plying the Dumaguete-Bacolod route, provided travelers comply with the travel requirements.
Travelers from Negros Occidental are required to register via the S-PaSS system and present their valid vaccination card or a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test at least 72 hours prior to boarding the buses.
When they reach Negros Oriental, they need to present a photocopy of their vaccination card and government-issued ID, while unvaccinated travelers are required to present a negative antigen or RT-PCR test result as well as government-issued ID.
Miraflor said the entry and exit points between the two provinces would be limited between Mabinay, Negros Oriental in the south, and San Carlos City, Negros Occidental in the north.
On the other hand, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said discussions are underway with VTI. Earlier, Negros Occidental 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.
Previously, the 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./PN
