By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Seventy-three Badjaos who used to roam the streets of Bacolod City were sent back to their hometown in Jolo, Sulu during the weekend.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said that in this pandemic, it was imperative that these Badjaos be sent home before they became COVID-19 victims or carriers of the virus themselves as they roam and beg around the City.
The mayor said that the City Government, through the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD) and the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), facilitated their return in coordination with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The return of the Badjaos became a challenge in view of the ongoing pandemic, and the bombing in Jolo, Sulu a few weeks ago that almost aborted the project, Leonardia added.
They will go back to Jolo via Dumaguete City.
Leonardia also said he is thankful to Governor Roel Degamo of Negros Oriental who approved the passage of the Badjaos through the territorial jurisdiction of Negros Oriental straight on to the pier in Dumaguete City.
From Dumaguete, the Badjaos will be transported to Zamboanga City by sea Monday evening.
The Office of the Civil Defense of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will then receive the Badjaos there and ensure their safe travel on to Jolo.
Those who were sent home were members of the 33 Badjao families rounded up by the DSSD last August upon the instructions of Leonardia.
After wandering the city streets, the Badjaos were temporarily housed at the Bacolod Youth Home in Barangay Vista Alegre where they were provided with daily food provisions and other basic necessities by the City Government.
For their trip home, the DSSD provided them with food and cash allowances for their travel expenses, rented a bus to bring them to Dumaguete City, and paid for their boat fares to Zamboanga City with the use of program funds of the DSWD regularly coursed through the DSSD.
According to DSSD head Pacita Tero, the Badjaos agreed to be sent home after they were briefed about the risks they may run into while roaming the streets of Bacolod in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak.
