THE Provincial Government of Davao Oriental will rescue stranded persons outside the province’s border, particularly those stuck in Davao City, on Friday, May 1.
Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang announced that the Provincial Government will deploy six Oplan Sundo buses to ferry Davao Oriental residents who are stranded in Davao City back to the province for the next two weeks.
Dayanghirang said they will deploy six buses to ferry Davao Oriental residents who are stranded in Davao City back to the province.
He said the first batch of passengers to be ferried on Friday are stranded students. Aside from them, he said they will also give priority to employees who have lost their jobs and have no means to earn income, Overseas Filipino Workers, and other vulnerable groups – all of whom will be catered in the succeeding days.
Since Sunday, over 700 have signified their interest in availing the Oplan Sundo buses.
However, he said the Provincial Task Force on Covid-19 conducted a filtering system to cater only to those individuals who are in great need of the service and are bonafide residents of the province.
He also said verification and validation are done by the Provincial Incident Management Team together with its counterparts in Local Government Units (LGUs).
“Kinahanglan pud nato tan-awon kung pila ang kapasidad sa atong quarantine area sa matag munisipyo, barangay ug siyudad sa Mati (We also need to ensure that our quarantine facilities’ capacity in every municipalities, barangays, and Mati City),” Dayanghirang said on Thursday, April 30, during the One Davao on Covid-19 virtual presser.
Meanwhile, Dr. Reden Bersaldo, Incident Commander and Action Officer of the Provincial Task Force on Covid-19, said the Oplan Sundo, which will operate three times a week for the next two weeks will cater about 700 to 800 individuals.
Bersaldo said each bus will only accommodate 25 persons including the driver, security personnel, and the medical and support staff who will accompany the passengers.
He said the doctor and nurse on board will check the passenger’s respiratory symptoms while the security personnel will ensure the safety of the passengers and ensure that physical distancing is properly observed. Those who have symptoms will be transferred to a separate bus, he added.
Dayanghirang, meanwhile, said passengers will be dropped off to their respective city or municipality’s designated quarantine centers where they will be housed and isolated for the next 14 days.
Passengers, he said, are reminded to bring clothing and other personal belongings that they can use for 14 days of quarantine as they will not be allowed to go home. The family members of the passengers are also not allowed to meet or visit during the duration of the quarantine period.
The Davao City Government, on Monday, April 27, opened a database center for individuals stranded within and outside the city.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, in a recent radio interview, siad that they are continuously coordinating with other local government units (LGUs) who wish to rescue their stranded residents in the city.
She said stranded residents in the city must report their situation to the center by providing the following details through the center’s text hotline and e-mail address posted on the City Government of Davao and CTOO Facebook page.
The city mayor said the center will be coordinating with LGUs to arrange it. (RGL)