Negros Occidental Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. said today, January 27, that his office is also investigating a returning overseas Filipino (ROF) from Talisay City for a discrepancy in his quarantine certification.
The PLO is investigating the authenticity of the Talisay resident’s quarantine certification from Manila because of a discrepancy in its date, Nellas said.
The Talisay resident arrived from the US Virgin Islands and was supposedly quarantined in Manila before returning to Negros Occidental, he said.
The PLO is also preparing to file charges for falsification of public documents and violation of health protocols against five other (ROFs), Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz Tuesday.
Those facing possible charges are a couple and their son from Pontevedra who arrived from London and a Sagay resident from Saudi Arabia who listed themselves as locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and not ROFs in their documents on their return to the province, he said.
Also expected to face charges is a Cadiz City resident from Turkey who allegedly had a falsified quarantine certificate, Diaz added.
TESTING
Meanwhile, Diaz said the provincial government will continue testing all passengers entering Negros Occidental by air and sea for COVID-19.
He said the airlines are asking to be allowed to operate daily flights into Negros Occidental, instead of their current two flights each a week.
If they can prove that their screening procedure in Manila is effective and no incoming passenger tests positive on arrival in Bacolod in the next two weeks, he will recommend to the governor the removal of the swab booths at the air and sea ports, Diaz said.
“Unless they are able to do that, we cannot let our guard down, we owe it to the Negrenses to keep them safe,” Diaz said.
At present, there are still people entering Negros Occidental who supposedly tested negative in Manila, but on arrival in the province test positive, he said.
GAPING HOLE
The problem is Bacolod City has a different protocol, passengers who arrive are allowed into the city if they test negative from their point of origin and are not tested again on arrival, Diaz said.
“We have been calling for uniform protocol… We cannot create a Negros Occidental bubble if one LGU does not follow the same protocol,” he said.
“We have a gaping hole in the middle of Negros Occidental,” Diaz said.
Bacolod City is a highly urbanized city that is not under Negros Occidental.
CEBU ARRIVALS
Meanwhile, Diaz said passengers arriving from Cebu through the ports of the cities of San Carlos and Escalante continue to be swabbed for COVID-19 tests on arrival.
There are still a lot of Negrenses in Cebu who are being repatriated by their local government units, he said.
In fact, there are more than 70 locally stranded Individuals (LSIs) from Cebu who are expected to arrive in Calatrava at the end of the month and another wave on February 5, he said.
VACCINES
Diaz said the 100,000 AstraZeneca doses good for 50,000 persons purchased by the provincial government will be prioritized for its 3,500 employees and to cover 1,000 employees in each of the 31 LGUs of the province.
The rest of the vaccines will also be allocated for frontline personnel, he said.
Diaz said 70 percent of the population has been assured of vaccines from the national government.*