THE southern Cebu town of Samboan has suspended sea travel to the neighboring island of Negros.
According to Mayor Emerito Calderon, the problem is the Province of Negros Oriental continues to refuse entry to passengers from Cebu, including its residents who have been stranded here because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Calderon said 30 to 40 Negros-bound travelers have been stranded at the Samboan port since July.
“Many from Negros end up getting stuck here. They all came here thinking they could sail across the Tañon Strait, but Negros Oriental would not let them get off the boat. Some of them have been here for three weeks. To stop others from coming, we suspended sea travel,” the mayor said in Cebuano on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020.
Calderon said the Municipal Government has been forced to house and feed the stranded passengers.
“We can’t afford to do this indefinitely since we also have to attend to the need of our residents,” he said in Cebuano.
He issued Executive Order 39, which suspended travel to Negros Oriental for two weeks, or from Aug. 26 to Sept. 9.
However, his order does not include cargo vessels that transport deliveries.
In case of emergency or if the passenger has important business in Negros Oriental, he or she must submit some requirements like a letter addressed to the mayor, a medical certificate or a court hearing schedule, among others.
Calderon said his order might be extended if Negros Oriental continues to refuse entry to passengers from Cebu.
However, he understands that the neighboring province wants to avoid transmission of the Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019, considering that Cebu has a much higher number of Covid-19 cases than the latter.
The mayor assured that once Negros Oriental changes its mind, he will lift the ban.
“Cebu Province is already on modified general community quarantine, but the Negros Provincial Government wouldn’t even allow its residents who were stranded here to go home,” Calderon said in Cebuano.
While travel between Samboan and Negros Oriental is suspended, 15,314 passengers have passed through the Cebu Baseport between Aug. 1 and the morning of Aug. 25.
According to the Cebu Port Authority (CPA), they included locally stranded individuals, overseas Filipino workers and authorized persons outside of residence.
The CPA said 5,133 were inbound passengers, while 10,181 were outbound passengers.
The CPA earlier urged all travelers leaving Cebu to proceed directly to their designated Coast Guard Stations for the review and validation of their travel documents as required under National Task Force Order 2020-02 before they proceed to their assigned port terminals.
This is also to avoid overcrowding in ports.
The CPA said passengers bound for Tagbilaran City, Tubigon, Cagayan de Oro, Larena and Plaridel in Misamis Occidental via Lite Shipping Corp.; Surigao, Masbate, Calbayog, Iloilo, Ozamiz, Nasipit, Palompon, Surigao and Maasin via Cokaliong Shipping Lines; and Talibon via VG Roro should proceed to the Coast Guard Station at Pier 1 located outside the port’s main gate.
Passengers bound for Tubigon via Fast Cat and those bound for Hilongos via Gloria V should proceed to the Coast Guard Station in front of Port Terminal 2 at Pier 3.
Passengers bound for Manila, Dipolog, Surigao, Ormoc, Hilongos, Iloilo and Ozamis via 2go, Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, Medallion Transport Inc. and Roble Shipping Lines should proceed to the Coast Guard Station in front of Pier 4. (ANV / PJB, WBS)