Only LSIs will be disallowed-EOC

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – The Emergency Operations Center clarified Thursday that the moratorium on repatriations from Dec 21, 2020 to Jan 3, 2021 only covers LSIs or Locally Stranded Individuals outside Region 6 (Western Visayas).

It is not a lockdown, it stressed.

The EOC further clarified that the moratorium is only for LSIs and not for ROFs (Returning Overseas Filipinos), ROFWs (Returning Overseas Filipino Workers), and APORs (Authorized Persons Outside Residence).

Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, who chairs the Bacolod IATF, reiterated that people should not confuse the “travel suspension” with a “lockdown.”

“This is a serious matter. We are in crisis. Let’s validate the information shared to us,” Familiaran said.

On Dec 8, the Regional IATF issued Resolution No. 95 series of 2020, which approved the proposed suspension of LSI influx into Bacolod City.

The city government made the proposal to the RIATF by endorsing the letter of Councilor Cindy Rojas, chair of the Action Team on Non-OFW Returning Residents.

“Our healthcare workers like doctors, nurses, and members of the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) need a well-deserved break,” Rojas said.

Dr. Chris Sorongon, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) deputy medical for data analysis and assessment, also made the same clarifications.

Sorongon emphasized that Bacolod is currently under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ), the least stringent community quarantine status.

With the MGCQ, movement within Bacolod is allowed yet regulated. The travel moratorium, on the other hand, would prohibit entry of LSIs from other areas in Western Visayas to Bacolod.

“The travel moratorium only covers LSIs coming from provinces outside of Region 6. So, if you are from Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, and Negros Occidental, you can visit Bacolod City,” Sorongon said.

However, travel for leisure is still not allowed, the EOC said. (With a report from PIO)