Some Bohol mayors appealed to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to temporarily suspend the travel of locally stranded individuals into the province amid the continued deluge of LSIs and an increase in the number of returning Boholanos arriving in the island with COVID-19 infection.
“Ning hanyo g’yud ta sa DILG na unta mo temporary stop sa ta. Na mo sabot pud unta sila sa sitwasyon sa mga mayors na nagkadipudipo na ta pag-ayo sa pag dawat sa mga LSI, dili lalim,” League of Municipalities of the Philippines – Bohol president Mayor Miriam Sumaylo of Dauis said in an interview over station dyRD’s “Tagbilaran by Night” program on Wednesday.
According to Sumaylo, COVID-19 positive cases may cause shortage in quarantine bed spaces for LSIs considering that those who are infected with the disease will remain longer inside government isolation and quarantine facilities.
All LSIs and returning overseas Filipinos are required to undergo 14-day facility or hotel quarantine upon arriving in the province.
Sumaylo conveyed the appeal to the DILG during a meeting among mayors and other officials from various agencies on Wednesday but the request would still have be relayed to higher national authorities.
“Kinasing-kasing g’yud namong hanyo didto sa national, sa DILG na paminawon pud ang atong side,” she said.
The ranking local chief executive also called on national authorities to re-impose the mandatory testing of LSIs prior to their trips to their hometowns.
“Mas maayo g’yud kaayo na ibalik na. Unya usa pud na sa atoang gi suggest na naa g’yud unta na,” she said.
The national government, through its Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on emerging infectious diseases, has been easing requirements for LSI travel noting that their transportation to their hometowns should be “unhampered.”
It also pushed the provincial government to authorize local government units to quarantine their LSIs inside their homes, but the move was heavily opposed by the public and later on also the mayors who on Wednesday decided that home quarantine for returning Boholanos is no longer allowed.
There are 19 active COVID-19 cases in Bohol and all of them are LSIs.
Two of the latest cases from Dauis and Loboc were reported on Wednesday.
Other infected LSIs are from Tagbilaran City (3), Candijay (3), Sagbayan (2), Balilihan, Talibon (2), Tubigon 2, Inabanga, San Isidro and Loon 2.
A June 23 data from the Capitol showed that the province has allowed the entry of 5,080 LSIs in a span of over a month. Of the figure, 3,149 remained under quarantine while the rest have completed their mandatory 14-day stay at government facilities before being cleared to go home. (A. Doydora)