By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Vallacar Transit Incorporated (VTI), which manages Ceres Liner passenger buses, is set to resume operations between Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.
This, after Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said that the regional border may be opened soon.
VTI media relations officer Jade Seballos, however, said the company will have to wait for the outcome of the dialogue between the management and representatives of the provincial government of Negros Occidental in the implementation of an executive order issued by the governor, specifically the requirement of negative RT-PCR test results from inbound travelers to Negros Occidental.
Seballos said that they will also have to comply with whatever requirements by the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB), which will also decide how many passenger buses to be used.
She said trips to Cebu, Negros Oriental, Manila and key cities of Mindanao from Bacolod City of VTI passenger buses have been suspended for almost a year now because of the Covid-19 pandemic that also led to the reduction of working days for its employees.
Even in Negros Occidental, Seballos admitted that the company’s operations are not in full swing, as they strictly observe the minimum health requirements in compliance with the order of the Inter Agency Task Force on Covid-19.
The company buses are being allowed to accommodate only 50 percent of its passenger capacity.
VTI earlier resumed its Iloilo-Mindoro-Santa Rosa, Laguna operations, Seballos added.
