Negros Occidental will not open its borders with Negros Oriental.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said that at a Zoom meeting with the Negros Occidental mayors today, January 13, it was agreed not to open the borders and to continue the status quo as a deterrent against the spread of COVID-19.
The governor said it was noted that as of January 9, the COVID-19 active cases in Negros Oriental were higher than those in Negros Occidental.
Bimbo Miraflor, Negros Oriental provincial government spokesman, said a meeting was set with representatives of the Negros Occidental Inter-Agency Task Force in Mabinay tomorrow, January 14, to discuss border concerns.
“While there are some quarters who disagree with the proposal (to reopen the borders) we will try to iron out things tomorrow on possible protocols and procedures that can be applied during the reopening of the borders,” he said.
Miraflor said the Negros Oriental businessmen are supportive of the opening of the borders.
Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo wants to open the borders with strict protocols in place, Miraflor added.
However, there are some quarters, including the Dumaguete City officials, who are against the reopening of the borders.
Dumaguete City has more active COVID-19 cases compared to Bacolod City, Miraflor admitted.
Lacson said Negros Occidental will not be joining the meeting in Mabinay, “I think that is their meeting to ask the sentiments of their constituents in the Oriental side.”
“Negros Oriental reached out to us and we will just inform them that the consensus is to keep the borders closed,” Lacson said.
“We will inform them that after our meeting with our local chief executives, we would like to keep the status quo,” he said.
When asked how long the borders will remain closed, Lacson said “we will be observing how it goes, even here in Negros Occidental our active cases are also on the rise, which could be the result of the holidays.”
Meanwhile, Lacson said Negros Occidental will continue to accept locally stranded individuals from various parts of the country.
From time to time, local governments will request for moratoriums on LSI arrivals when their quarantine facilities reach full capacity, he said.
San Carlos City has already manifested that it will limit the number of LSIs entering the city, Lacson said.
Lacson pointed out San Carlos City currently has the most number of COVID-19 cases in the province and has been No. 1 for some time.*