Sea trips between Bacolod, Iloilo resume on May 18

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Commander Jansen Benjamin, head of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Negros Occidental, said on Thursday that sea trips will resume on May 18, 2020.

This, after the National Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) on COVID-19 decided to place Western Visayas under the more relaxed General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) after May 15.

It’s been about two months since sea trips here were halted due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Benjamin said that all roll-on, roll-off (Roro) vessels and fast craft from Bacolod to Iloilo and vice-versa will be allowed to travel, but only with a limited capacity of passengers.

Benjamin said that only 50 percent of the passenger capacity of the vessel can be allowed to board the ship.

He, however, stressed that physical distancing, wearing of face masks, checking of body temperatures, must be strictly observed among the passengers at the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. (Bredco) port here.

Handwash areas and disinfecting footbaths shall also be provided in all entry and exit access points, he said.

He said that they will wait for other guidelines from the IATF if children and senior citizens will also be allowed to board.

When asked if the passengers will still undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine when they arrived here from Iloilo, Benjamin said it may be difficult for the city to cater all passengers for the quarantine, considering the limited number of quarantine centers here.

The PCG commander reiterated that the resumption of sea trips will only be allowed from and to areas which are placed under GCQ.

Sea trips to and from areas under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) will not be allowed, he said, adding that ports in the cities of Escalante, Sagay, and San Carlos will remain non-operational since most trips come from the province of Cebu, which is to be placed under modified ECQ.

He, however, said that these ports can still accommodate vessels that carry essential cargoes.