- MITCH M. LIPA
Both inbound and outbound travel of passengers from Iloilo City to Negros Island and vice-versa is temporarily suspended, effective May 25 until May 31, an advisory from the Philippine Coast Guard–Western Visayas said last night.
The advisory, signed by PCG Iloilo station commander Edison Diaz, said the movement of cargoes will remain unimpeded.
The trip suspension was an offshoot of the approval by the National Inter-Agency Task Force of the request of Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas to place the City under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine, from May 23 to 31.
Last week, Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the port economy will be affected if the travel moratorium will be implemented.
He estimated an economic loss of P50 million to P100 million for the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo if a weeklong travel ban takes effect.
The group of businessmen earlier opposed the requested moratorium, saying it lacked consultation with the stakeholders.
Carbon, who is also the operations and financial consultant of Weesam Express, said that fastcraft operators have started to note an increase in the number of travelers weeks before news circulated that Iloilo City was asking for a travel moratorium, due to the rising cases of COVID-19.
He said the fastcrafts were already reaching their full capacity of 60 percent in the number of passengers allowed under the Modified General Community Quarantine. When that news broke out and while waiting for the decision of the NIATF, the number of passengers suddenly dropped to 40 percent of the allowed total capacity.
The three fastcraft operators each have two trips per day from Bacolod to Iloilo, and vice versa. – MML
