SHIPPING companies operating Iloilo-Bacolod and vice versa are asking for the intervention of the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Economic Affairs so that they can resume operation.
Frank Carbon, operator of a fastcraft, said the reason why they did not resume operation yet is due to the strict health protocols still imposed by the Province of Iloilo.
He said while Bacolod City and Iloilo City have already allowed them for commercial operation, the Province of Iloilo still treats all passengers as locally stranded individuals (LSI).
These passengers are required to undergo the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test upon arrival and undergo quarantine while waiting for the results of their swab tests. They will also be fetched by the local government of their destination.
“This will discourage travelers especially that more than 30 percent of our passengers from Bacolod and Negros Occidental go outside Iloilo City,” Carbon said.
He said the Province of Negros Occidental also requires swab testing for arriving passengers from Iloilo, but they are allowed to go home and just give their personal data and contact numbers for their swab test results and contact tracing purposes.
“We hope the Regional IATF would resolve our concerns especially with the health protocols of Iloilo Province”, Carbon said.
“We cannot resume operation with just a few passengers because we will certainly lose from our operational expenses and fuels,” Carbon added.
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