By Karen Villanda
MANILA – Almost 100 individuals hoping to return to their home provinces trooped to Manila North Harbor on Thursday, but most of them were not allowed to enter the port as strict screening is in place.
Under NCR Plus bubble guidelines, non-essential travel to and from Metro Manila and four nearby provinces is prohibited.
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Santiago said passengers have to present complete requirements before they are allowed to board ship.
He said travelers bound to Zamboanga have to present a negative RT-PCR test, while only APOR or authorized persons outside residence are allowed to enter Palawan.
Meanwhile, only essential travelers will be allowed to travel into and outside Western Visayas or Region 6 from March 23 to April 4, per a memorandum released by the Regional Task Force and Regional Inter-Agency Task Force.
The same memorandum states that residents of Western Visayas returning from the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal (NCR Plus) are temporarily restricted from entering the region. The same prohibition also applies to inbound individuals coming from the NCR Plus bubble whose purpose is for vacation or leisure.
Asked what will happen to passengers who will fail to present requirements, the PPA said that should they insist on not leaving the port, the agency will coordinate with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the local government unit (LGU), who might transport the travelers to quarantine or holding facilities as mass gathering is not allowed during this pandemic.
“’Yun nga ipapakiusap natin sa kanila, na bumalik muna sila sa pinanggalingan nila. Otherwise, we’ve done efforts before…na nakikipagugnayan tayo either [sa] DSWD or doon sa LGU. ‘Pag ganyan ang mangyayari, i-c-clear out yan. Dadalhin ‘yan sa mga quarantine facilities or doon sa holding facility, and I don’t think na magugustuhan nila na mapupunta doon rather than makauwi na lang muna sila sa kanilang mga bahay,” Santiago said.
[That is what we are requesting them, that for now they return to where they came from. Otherwise, we’ve done efforts before…where we coordinate with either DSWD or the LGU. If that happens, they will be cleared out. They will be taken to quarantine facilities or a holding facility, and I don’t think they will want to go there rather than return to their homes.]
