By Joseph B.A. Marzan
Iloilo province is still receiving Locally Stranded Individuals (LSI) and Returning Overseas Filipinos from other areas of the country despite a temporary halt in repatriations in other areas of Western Visayas, Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. clarified on Monday.
In a phone interview, Defensor confirmed to Daily Guardian that Iloilo province is not included in the Memorandum Circular No. 3 series of 2020 issued by National Task Force on COVID-19 (NTF) Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez on August 7, 2020.
The memorandum approved Resolution No. 28 of the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force Region VI (RIATF-VI) and Western Visayas Regional Task Force on COVID-19 (WVRTF), imposing a moratorium on LSI and ROF return trips to Iloilo City, Bacolod City and Negros Occidental province for 14 days starting Aug 8.
This was due to the rising number of local coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in these areas, which were traced to direct and indirect contact with LSIs and ROFs who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2.
The governor added that the Iloilo City government has allowed the provincial government to accept voyages arriving at the Port of Iloilo which is in the city.
“We are not included in the [NTF’s memorandum]. We are still accepting LSI and ROF voyages. We’re anticipating and coordinating to organize these trips. The city will allow us to go through them,” Defensor said.
He assured that the LSI and ROF trips of Iloilo residents are well-organized from their point of origin.
“We’re organizing these trips. For example, in Manila, we already know who will be travelling because we’re already being given a copy of the manifest, and we continue to manage the numbers. These trips are coming in from Manila, Cebu, and Cagayan De Oro,” the governor said.
Defensor further clarified that the trips from Manila are only for LSIs and ROFs due to tighter quarantine procedures, which will still need approval from national government authorities before travelling.
Metro Manila reverted to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) from August 4 to 18.
“We do have exceptions in areas under MECQ because inter-zonal travel, from MECQ to MGCQ, is prohibited. That’s why the [Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines] cancelled domestic flights, because they might be carrying high-risk persons from MECQ to MGCQ, so they will need to request for approval if they would need to travel. If we organize trips for LSIs stranded at the ports in Manila, we will still have to write to the national government,” he said.
