WITHOUT a mutual agreement, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he will still not allow the entrance of buses from Negros Oriental to the province.
This is despite the order of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo approving the recommendations of the local Inter-Agency Task Force to the resumption of bus trips between the two provinces.
"We (still) need to have similar protocols with them considering that we are now under the same alert level (before allowing the resumption of trips)," Lacson stressed.
If they (both provinces) can come into an agreement, Lacson said that’s the only time that the bus trips could resume, adding that the matter is now being studied by Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II along with the management of Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), operator of Ceres buses.
Negros Oriental provincial spokesman Bimbo Miraflor said they are now allowing the resumption of the Bacolod-Dumaguete routes for Ceres buses and vise-versa via Mabinay and San Carlos City.
While the Negros Oriental Provincial Government has given a "green light" on the resumption of bus trips, Degamo in his order urged those who will travel to Negros Occidental to follow travel requirements and minimum health protocols, Miraflor said.
But Lacson said there are still a lot of aspects that need to be addressed like the requirements on having negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results for those who are not yet vaccinated as well as those who have yet to receive their second dose.
"How can we control the passengers being picked up along the way?" he asked, saying that this is another concern to be addressed.
Lacson said that the decision on the resumption of bus trips between Negros Occidental and Oriental could not be done abruptly as it is quite complicated.
"It’s easier when you buy a ticket for an airline compared to buying tickets for buses," the governor stressed, adding that he hopes they could decide on the resumption of bus trips within the week.
As to the order making face shield use voluntary in areas under Alert Level 2, "we should follow," he said.*