The Negros Oriental Inter-Agency Task Force has approved and adopted the request of Vallacar Transit Inc. yesterday to allow the entry of buses from Cebu provided the company should follow the provisions on health protocols.
In a media interview, Governor Roel Degamo said the bus company must meet the requirements before allowing passengers to board the bus leaving and entering Negros Oriental.
It should comply with the manifesto of passengers and health clearance from where the passenger came from as well as enforce health protocols such as wearing of face mask and face shield and observing distancing in the seating arrangement.
The letter-request was sent by VTI Chief Operations Officer Hernan Omecillo to the members of Negros Oriental IATF and to Degamo.
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Management Program Division chief Zeaphard Gerhart Caelian said the proposed opening of border between the two provinces will be discussed by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson during the meeting with all the mayors today.
Degamo had sent a letter to Lacson raising the possibility of opening the borders between the two Negros provinces.
Caelian said that Negros Occidental has some concerns because of the increasing number of positive cases in Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental.
The IATF will study first the comparative data of both provinces before making a decision, he added.
For his part, Mabinay Vice Mayor Jango Uy said he is in favor of re-opening the borders.
He added that since the northern border in Vallahermoso had already opened, it would be helpful for Negrenses in the southern portion of the island to re-open the Mabinay border.
“In times of emergency, it would be easy for both provinces to help each other if the border is already open,” Uy said. – MML
