By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – The provincial government of Negros Occidental said it could not grant airline companies’ requests for additional flights this Christmas season.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz told the Daily Guardian here that “we cannot grant more flights as many LGUs (local government units) applied for moratoria (on repatriations) from Dec 23 to Jan 3.”
Earlier, airline companies asked Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to allow more flights in December.
Provincial Incident Management Team commander Zeaphard Gerhart Caelian said Lacson earlier granted the request for the resumption of commercial flights in December except on Dec. 24 and 25 and Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, 2021.
Presently, the three airline companies operating at Bacolod-Silay Airport are allowed one flight per week for the Bacolod-Cebu route and two flights per week for the Bacolod-Manila route with a limit of 199 passengers per flight.
Caelian said because of the Yuletide season, more Negrenses are expected to come home.
He also admitted that the local transmission of the COVID-19 is a big problem and reminded returning Negrenses to comply with the requirements such as medical certificate and authority to travel.
Caelian also said that Sweeper flights are strictly for Negros Occidental’s Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) and Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APORs).
All LSIs will be quarantined until they get negative results from their swab tests, he said.
From Dec. 1 to 8, Caelian reported that a total of 2,443 LSIs returned to Negros Occidental and 628 returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs).
From March 30 to Dec. 8 this year, he also reported that 35,902 Returning Overseas Workers and LSIs returned to the province.
Caelian said 25,902 of them are LSIs from Manila and Cebu and 9,193 ROFs and OFWs.
