MANILA – The National Task Force Against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has approved the 14-day suspension of repatriation of locally stranded individuals (LSI) to Iloilo City, Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.
The suspension took effect on Saturday, Aug. 8.
Task force chief Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana signed a memorandum on this following the release of Resolution No. 28 by Western Visayas’ COVID-19 interagency task force calling for a two-week timeout on LSI repatriation.
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager Jay Santiago confirmed to Panay News on Sunday that the travel moratorium was already being implemented.
According to Santiago, 272 LSIs were in the vicinity of the Port of Manila and of these, 111 intended to return to Bacolod City while 62 were supposedly bound for Iloilo City. They would have to wait for two more weeks.
“Karamihan sa kanila ay nag-aabang sa arrival area ng port terminal building, sa concourse area at sa unticketed area ng Zaragoza gate,” Santiago said.
“But dahil sa travel moratorium na ipinalabas ng national task force, asahan na mastra- stranded na naman sila dito. Pero hindi naman sila pinapabayaan ng Philippine Coast Guard at PPA. We provide them with food packs,” he added.
On Aug. 6, Iloilo City announced it won’t be receiving LSIs. “So that our personnel will also be able to rest,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
The city’s chief executive cited the surge in COVID-19 cases. Frontliners of the city government should focus on these cases, he stressed.
The local government of Bacolod issued a similar appeal. It warned of shortages in quarantine facilities if the return of LSIs is not properly paced.
As of Aug. 8, Iloilo City had 295 cumulative COVID-19 cases (192 local cases and 103 LSIs and repatriated overseas workers), data from the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 showed.
Iloilo City also had nine COVID-19 deaths, all local or indigenous cases.
Meanwhile, as of Aug. 8, Bacolod City had 368 cumulative COVID-19 cases (183 local cases and 185 LSIs and repatriated overseas workers), data from DOH-6 showed.
Bacolod City also had seven COVID-19 deaths, all local or indigenous cases.
“I repeat: we will not accept sweeper flights and (ship) trips for two weeks,” said Iloilo City’s Treñas.
Future incoming flights and ship trips, he added, must be coordinated with the city mayor’s office.
“If these are not coordinated (with my office), they should go back to their seaport or airport of origin. Warning is hereby given…I will not allow you to disembark,” said Treñas.
Aug. 6 was the last sweeper flight and ship trip that the city accepted. A total of 116 repatriated overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and 77 LSIs returned.
The plane landed at the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo at around 12:02 a.m. Twenty of the ROFs were residents of the city.
Regarding the 77 LSIs, the ship ferrying them from Cebu docked at Fort San Pedro in Iloilo City. Nine were residents of this city.
As for Negros Occidental as of Aug. 8, the province had 627 cumulative COVID-19 cases (72 local cases and 555 LSIs and repatriated overseas workers).
It also had three COVID-19 deaths (one repatriate and two local cases)./PN
