IN RESPONSE to the demand of passengers and airline companies, the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental will allow more flights between Bacolod and Manila starting November 15, 2021.

Provincial Administrator lawyer Rayfrando Diaz II said from November 15 to 30, each airline company -- Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia -- will have one more flight each daily or seven additional flights a week.

Diaz said the move was agreed Thursday, November 11, in a meeting between Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer.

"This will hopefully bring down plane ticket fares," he said, adding that increasing the number of flights going to and from Manila will be contained in an executive order (EO) to be issued by the governor.

The official said the province is bracing for more passengers this Christmas season.

“We are hoping that this [influx] will not worsen our situation amid the ongoing pandemic," he said.

Diaz added that special cargo flights of Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific will remain for vaccinated individuals, with two flights each per week.

At present, each airline company has two flights each every week.

Diaz said travelers will only need to enroll with the Safe, Swift and Smart Passage (S-Pass), and present negative results of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test obtained 72 hours before travel for non-fully vaccinated individuals.

Those who will be caught having a falsified result shall undergo quarantine at the provincial quarantine facilities, Diaz stressed.

Meanwhile, Lacson said he is backing the stand of the League of Provinces of the Philippines National President and Marinduque Governor Presbitero Jose Velasco Jr. to make the Covid-19 vaccination mandatory.

The governor is also in favor that all government workers must be required to be fully vaccinated.