Travels to WV halted

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