MORE than 100 stranded students, including 26 tourists in Baguio City, were sent home with the assistance of Department of Transportation and Railways (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in the Cordillera.
On Thursday, June 4, 29 students of the Al-Maarif Educational Center based in Baguio City were assisted by DOTr-LTO Cordillera and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) in bringing them back home to their respective regions.
Francis Ray Almora, LTO-Cordillera director, said both agencies of government coordinated with various bus companies in the city to provide vehicle transport for the local stranded individuals (LSIs) to be brought back in their provinces after being locked down because of the coronavirus disease.
"Victory Liner and Genesis Bus were the first to heed the call. And on June 4, 130 more students will be going down to Manila and will then be travelling to Cagayan de Oro," Almora said.
Meanwhile, NCMF Director Abel Macarimpas said majority of students under the Arabic Learning Institute studying Islamic Theology will be going home in Mindanao after passing the mandatory swab testing.
On May 29, some 13 students were sent home to Zamboanga City with the help of a bus company who transported them from Baguio City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay.
Earlier, 26 stranded tourists were also sent home under the Hatid Turista Program, a collective effort of LTO, Department of Tourism, City Government of Baguio, Department of the Interior and Local Government and Victory Liner Inc.