NEGROS Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Monday, April 5, that he has yet to receive a reply from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) requesting the province to implement its own health protocols.

Lacson had earlier sent a letter to the IATF Testing Czar Secretary Vivencio Dizon, requesting them to allow the province to implement the mandatory swabbing and quarantine upon entry of all travelers to Negros Occidental.

According to Lacson, since he has yet to receive the reply and there is no word yet if his appeal was already tackled by the IATF, the swabbing and quarantine of travelers arriving at the province's seaports and airports are still voluntary.

He noted, however, that at present, there are no incoming passengers from outside Western Visayas since the IATF has agreed to a one-week travel moratorium in the region.

Based on an executive order issued by Lacson last week, he insisted that travelers must be swabbed and must undergo quarantine upon their arrival in the province.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government-Western Visayas Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero denied the governor's executive order, as it would not reflect on the uniform travel protocols under IATF Resolution 101.