BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – This city and Negros Occidental must adopt uniform and synchronized pandemic control measures to ensure unhampered travel of residents, according to Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz.
He acknowledged the differences between the provincial government and city government of Bacolod in managing the entry of travelers. Bacolod, being an independent city, decreed its own protocols.
“We have a gaping hole in the middle of Negros,” Diaz lamented.
While the provincial capitol wanted to create a “Negros Occidental bubble,” Diaz said, “how can we do that if one local government unit does not follow the same protocols?”
Bacolod is open to non-essential travel or those for leisure and vacation, among others, provided that tourists comply with the requirements specified in Executive Order 1, series of 2021, or an order establishing the consolidated guidelines for travel into the city issued by Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
One requirement is a negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test taken within three days before the date of travel to Bacolod.
Negros Occidental, on the other hand, remains closed to tourists.
Bacolod City had 127 active coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases as of Jan. 27 while Negros Occidental – composed of 31 towns and cities – had 115 infections as of Jan. 26.
According to Diaz, the provincial government will continue testing all people entering Negros Occidental by air and sea.
He cited plans with local airlines about the resumption of daily flights into the province instead of the current twice a week schedule.
“If they can prove that their screening procedure in Manila is effective and no incoming passengers would test positive upon arrival in the next weeks, we will recommend the removal of the swab booths at the air and sea ports,” Diaz said./PN
