By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Mayor Evelio Leonardia asked national authorities to “temporarily hold in abeyance” commercial sea and air travel to and from Bacolod City and Negros Occidental by June 1.
Leonardia said priority can be given to pre-arranged trips of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and stranded residents.
The mayor on Thursday directed the request to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and asked the agency to bring up the matter in the next meeting of the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) for COVID-19.
Leonardia said he communicated with DOTr Undersecretary Artemio Tuazon Jr., who is also the chief of staff of Secretary Arthur Tugade and sits as DOTr representative in the NIATF.
Leonardia said Tugade informed him that he will bring his concerns to the NIATF, a press statement from the Mayor’s Office said.
“We welcome our OFWs and stranded residents but subject to availability of space in our quarantine centers,” the mayor said.
Thus, there is a need to coordinate and pre-arrange these trips with those in charge in Metro Manila so disasters like new local transmissions from asymptomatic carriers will not happen, he added.
Leonardia said health protocols being implemented by the city since March, such as requiring the returning OFWs and stranded residents to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival here, have worked well in containment efforts.
The mayor, however, expressed fears that “these protocols will be imperiled by the sudden influx of arrivals into the City and Province from the resumption of commercial sea and air travel, if done without regard to the capacity to accommodate them in the LGU-managed quarantine centers upon their arrival.”
“We understand the urgent need of the national government to decongest Metro Manila of these OFWs. However, we also need to quarantine and swab them again using RT-PCR test when they arrive,” the mayor added.
Leonardia said that Bacolod had experienced receiving OFWs, some of whom later tested positive for the virus.
Since more of them are coming home, including residents who have been stranded in other places, the City and the Province have to maintain these health protocols to protect the general community, he further said.
“Our quarantine facilities are limited and we have no testing laboratory yet that can shorten the quarantine period. We still have to send our specimens to Iloilo for testing and results come after 5-10 days,” the mayor said.
“Our testing laboratory at Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital is still under construction and could be in place this June yet,” he added.
“So, we fervently appeal that whoever is in charge in Metro Manila should pre-arrange with us first on how many can we receive before a boat trip or plane flight is sent our way,” the mayor said.
“Otherwise, our quarantine facilities will be overrun soon and we would have lost control over our health protocols here that have successfully worked since March,” the mayor said.
