Man paddles boat for four days to go home

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

 

BACOLOD City – A 59-year-old man was taken to a quarantine facility in Calatrava, Negros Occidental, after he was intercepted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) while traveling on a boat from Cebu late Friday evening.

Commander Jansen Benjamin, head of PCG-Negros Occidental, said that authorities sighted an unmarked, non-motorized boat docked at the shoreline of Barangay Lemery past 10 p.m.

Benjamin said that the man traveled from Argao, Cebu by paddling for four days so he can return home.

Benjamin said that the man arrived safely in the province. He underwent medical consultation and was brought to Calatrava Evacuation Center for the 14-day quarantine.

Last week, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson temporarily halted the entry of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) from Cebu into the province, following the rise in the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the province, mostly repatriated persons.

The province has recorded its highest number of COVID-19 cases in a single day at 21 cases on June 24.

He has requested the national Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to expand the travel ban out of Cebu City to the whole province of Cebu.