Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is issuing an executive order allowing an increase in regular flights from Manila to the Bacolod-Silay Airport from November 15 to 30, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Thursday, November 11.
Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia will initially be allowed to increase their regular flights from the current two to seven each a week, which will bring down the cost of air travel to the province, Diaz said.
That means one flight per day for each of the three airlines, he said.
In addition to the seven regular flights per airline in a week, there will be two additional special flights each for PAL and Cebu Pacific for fully vaccinated individuals at lower fare rates, he added.
Fully vaccinated individuals will be able to save about P7,000 with lower fare rates and not having to pay for RT-PCR tests, he said.
Diaz said the representatives of the airlines in a meeting with the governor and Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer Thursday appealed that they be granted permission to increase their flights to meet passenger demand.
This will bring down airfare to and from Manila that is currently from P7,000 to P9,000 one way. The airline representatives promised the governor that airfare rates will go down, Diaz said.
Travelers will still be required to avail of an S-PaSS (Safe, Swift and Smart Passage) to digitally seek approval for travel to Negros Occidental, he said.
Fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to present negative RT-PCR test results for COVID-19, unlike those who are unvaccinated, he said.
They will only have to present their vaccination cards, Diaz said.
The governor will meet with the mayors to discuss their allowing the provincial government to approve the S-PaSS of travelers returning to their towns and cities to hasten the process, Diaz said.
The S-PaSS approval in the past had been at the city and municipal level but in some cases the process has been slow, he added.
If the provincial government approves the granting of the S-PaSS, the local government units will just be informed of the incoming passengers headed for their areas, Diaz added.
“That will shorten the processing time for S-PaSS,” he said.
There is also a proposal that those caught with falsified documents will be quarantined and after seven days they will be tested for COVID-19, he said.
Legal action will also be discussed, he said.
All incoming passengers will be subjected to the screening process of the Negros Occidental provincial government at the airport regardless of where they are headed for, he added.
They are also preparing for an increase in travelers to Negros in December, he said
Diaz said there was no discussion on an increase of flights from Cebu that are at one a week per airline.*