"STILL not allowed."
This was the response of Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator lawyer Rayfrando Diaz II when asked if buses from Negros Oriental are now allowed to enter the province.
Diaz said Tuesday, November 16, that he received several calls from various local government units (LGUs) saying that there were buses from Negros Oriental attempting to enter the province.
As of Tuesday, November 16, Diaz said Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo are yet to finalize the resumption of trips between the two provinces.
For its part, the Provincial Government is now in talks with the Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), operator of the Ceres buses operating in the Negros Island.
"We are looking into how much the capacity of each bus is, although we want at least 70 percent," Diaz said.
"We are coordinating (with VTI) to lay down the terms and we want that passenger manifesto should be forwarded to the province considering that they are from Region 7," he said.
Diaz said Degamo has yet to issue an Executive Order (EO) regarding the resumption of bus trips so both Provincial Governments could present to the VTI their terms.
There should also be complementary rules wherein if Negros Occidental allow those from Negros Oriental to enter the province on certain conditions, they should also do the same, he added.
