THREE foreigners and a Filipina were intercepted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine National Police (PNP) after they discovered that the four came from Panglao, Bohol, and planned to dock in Oslob, Cebu in violaton of a ban on boat passengers.
Police Sgt. Nelson Mamale, Oslob Police Station investigator, said the foreigners included two British nationals who are brothers and a Polish national.
The fourth is a Filipina from Tarlac. SunStar is withholding their names as they were not detained after they passed a health check.
Mamale said the two British nationals and the Filipina were together while the Polish national just joined the ferry crossing from the town of Panglao to the coast of Oslob.
The four were aboard a motorized boat which the PNP believed they had rented.
During the investigation, the four admitted that, due to the lack of vessels from Panglao to the town of Oslob, they decided to rent a motorized boat.
Mamale added that Municipal Health Office (MHO) official Mariane Loe Bringuilo conducted a health check on the four to determine if they have symptoms of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Mamale said: “They were placed under a thermal scan. Our MHO said they are negative of the symptoms of Covid-19. That’s why they were immediately released.”
He added: “If they were not placed under a health check, they wouldn’t have been released. However, we already have an approval from our doctor and the Provincial Health Office.”
Mamale said the foreigners arrived in the town before Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia issued an executive order regulating the entry of travelers into Cebu to prevent the spread of the Covid-19. That is why they were not detained.
Health officials said Cebu remained free of any Covid-19 case as of Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
Police Lt. Roland Magdadaro, Oslob sub-station commander, said he tried to find out from the four how they got the banca but they were not able to identify the owner or operator.
Instead, the four were able to give descriptions of the vessel. Magdadaro said the four admitted they came from a resort in Panglao, where a man named Lito rented them the boat.
Magdadaro said: “This is what we are working on. We will coordinate with our sub-stations in Western Bohol. We will ask them to locate the operator of the boat.”
The four were released by the PNP, but their contact details were kept by the MHO in Oslob. (BBT / RSR)