DUE to the limited mass transportation from Davao City to other Mindanao provinces and regions, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio urged Mindanao-bound passengers to look for gateways nearer to their hometowns rather than going through the Francisco Bangoy International Airport (FBIA), also called as Davao International Airport.
The city government issued an advisory on Monday, July 27, suggesting passengers who are not from Davao Region to not choose or select FBIA as their entry point if they are returning to their hometowns.
Duterte-Carpio said due to the limited bus routes from Davao City to other Mindanao provinces and regions, passengers who are not from Davao Region will have to make prior communication with their respective local government units (LGUs) for pick up at the airport or other transportation arrangements.
She added this is to avoid non-Davao air passengers from getting stranded in the city.
"Duna 'tay issue nga na-encounter sa atong arriving passengers nga wala sila'y masakyan padulong sa region nila because wala pa'y inter-regional buses (We had issues with arriving passengers who are not able to go home because there are no inter-regional buses)," the mayor said in an interview via 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
The mayor said they are coordinating with neighboring regions to notify them of their stranded residents in the city.
Although the mayor said there is no problem for travellers within Davao Region since the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had already issued and augmented buses from the city to other LGUs.
Meanwhile, the mayor suggested neighboring regions to augment daily vehicular services at the airport to avoid hassle for both the passengers and LGUs, who will be traveling for hours.
Traveling from one general community quarantine (GCQ) province to another is currently allowed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Omnibus Guideline.
All regions in Mindanao are currently placed under GCQ and modified GCQ (MGCQ), which is permitted by the IATF rule.
However, LTFRB-Davao Region Director Armand Dioso said that, as of press time, only point-to-point buses are operating within the region. This means, another bus will be augmented at the border of the neighboring region that will take them to their destination.
Dioso admitted some LGUs in the region are still hesitant to accept bus routes from other regions due to the shortage of personnel who will monitor passenger's health conditions.
Duterte-Carpio, prior to the resumption of the commercial flight operation of the Davao International Airport on June 8, said there is a need to augment more buses and other land transportation to cater to arriving passengers who will be returning to their respective localities.
Meanwhile, Duterte-Carpio reiterated the airport's policy of not releasing passengers from the airport without securing a negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result. This applies to Davao City and non-city residents who will be passing through the airport.
However, those who will not be able to secure an RT-PCR upon arrival will be tested for free and put on hold while waiting for their test results that will come out within 48 hours.
The mayor said to avoid hassle, passengers are encouraged to take an RT-PCR test from their point of origin but at their own cost.