Travels to WV halted

All forms of travel from the NCR Plus area and Cebu to Western Visayas were halted upon request of local chief executives in the region in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19. (Photo from Sixth AVSEU-Iloilo FB page)

All forms of travel from the National Capital Region and four Luzon provinces and Cebu were halted from April 4-10, 2021 to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas announced that flights and trips to Western Visayas from the National Capital Region (NCR) and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, or “NCR plus”, as well as from Cebu, are prohibited for six days.

Treñas said Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III had confirmed to him that the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) had granted the request of the region’s local chief executives for a moratorium on travel from the above-mentioned areas due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.

As of Sunday, the Iloilo City COVID-19 Task Force said it continued to accept returnees and authorized persons outside residence while awaiting the official word on the moratorium on trips from the NCR Plus bubble and Cebu.

Task force spokesperson Jeck Conlu confirmed the information to Daily Guardian amid concerns that the city will not accept passengers from the nation capital and four other Luzon provinces where cases are spiraling.

But returnees and APORs will have to follow protocols like presentation of negative RT-PCR test results not older than three days before arrival.

Iloilo Airport sources told Daily Guardian that flights continued to be normal on Sunday while they await the official word from the Civil Aeronautics Board on the flight moratorium.

In an advisory Sunday afternoon, Cebu Pacific cancelled several flights due to the one-week extension of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the areas covered by NCR Plus.

Since only essential travel is allowed in and out of Metro Manila until April 11, 2021, the following Cebu Pacific and Cebgo flights were cancelled during this period:

 

Route  Flight numbers Dates Covered 
Manila – Boracay (Caticlan)-Manila 5J 899/900

5J 891/892

5J 895/896

5J 901/902

5J 905/906

April 5 to 11, 2021
Manila – Kalibo – Manila DG 6317/6318 April 5 to 11, 2021
Manila – Cagayan de Oro – Manila 5J 381/382 April 6 and 8, 2021
Manila – Cebu – Manila 5J 551/552

5J 559/560

April 6 to 7, 2021
Manila – Coron (Busuanga) – Manila DG 6043/6044 April 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11, 2021
Manila – Coron (Busuanga) – Manila DG 6047/6048 April 6 and 8, 2021
Manila – Legazpi – Manila DG 6195/6196 April 7, 2021
Manila – Pagadian – Manila 5J 771/772 April 7 to 8, 2021
Manila – San Jose – Manila DG 6031/6032 April 8, 2021

The Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) has also approved the request of the local government of Western Visayas (Region 6) to temporarily suspend the acceptance of incoming passengers until April 10, 2021.

As a result, the following flights are also cancelled:

Route  Flight numbers Dates Covered 
Manila – Iloilo 5J 463 April 5 – 10, 2021
Manila – Roxas 5J 375 April 6, 2021
Manila – Bacolod 5J 483 April 6 and 8, 2021
Cebu – Bacolod – Cebu 5J 124/125 April 6, 2021
Cebu – Boracay (Caticlan) – Cebu DG 6132/6133 April 8, 2021
Manila – Roxas – Manila 5J 375/376 April 8 and 10, 2021
Iloilo– Manila 5J 464 April 9, 2021