Ocean Jet is scheduled to resume its “sweeper trips” in its main tri-city destinations in the region, Tagbilaran City, Cebu City and Dumaguete City, starting Saturday after a three-week suspension, a company official said Thursday.
According to Gene Lastimado, manager of Ocean Fast Ferries Corp. which operates Ocean Jet, the shipping firm secured documents required by the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force (PPA) and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
“Nagpada na mi og suwat ni Governor Art Yap. In fact, amo pong gi apil si Mayor [Baba Yap] ug atong Coast Guard sa Bohol ug sa Dumaguete pud among gi forwardan ang governor ug ang PPA aron aware pud sila,” he said.
Daily trips between Tagbilaran City and Cebu City will start on Saturday while twice-a-week trips between Tagbilaran and Dumaguete City will resume on Monday.
An Ocean Jet fastcraft departs Cebu at 9:20 a.m. and leaves Tagbilaran City at 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, another vessel leaves Tagbilaran at 12:10 p.m. for Dumaguete on Mondays and Fridays. This departs Dumaguete and heads for Tagbilaran at 2:30 p.m.
Lastimado clarified that their trips are for locally stranded individuals, overseas Filipino workers and Authorized Person Outside Residence.
According to Lastimado, the fastcraft company has sent out a Notice of Arrival (NOA) to PPA-Bohol manager James Gantalao, Office of the Governor in Bohol, Office of the City Mayor in Tagbilaran, Philippine Coast Guard, Office of the Governor in Negros Oriental and the PPA in Dumaguete.
Lastimado said that there will be no ticket transactions at the Tagbilaran City Tourist Port to limit human interaction.
Earlier this week, PPA-Bohol, Ocean Jet, Lite Shipping, and the PCG held a meeting to discuss safety measures and smooth entry and exit of passengers at the port.
During the meeting which was led by Gantalao it was noted that the LSIs, OFW, or APOR need to present their travel authority, medical clearance, ticket and boarding pass upon entering Gate 1 of the port.
All passengers will also undergo a body temperature check and register themselves through the TRAZE contact-tracing application or have their QR codes scanned at the Malasakit Helpdesk.
Passengers and parcels will be subjected to disinfection and sanitation procedures before being allowed entry into the vessel.
The procedures will be overseen by the Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau of Quarantine.
Meanwhile, arriving passengers need to present a letter of acceptance from their respective Local Government Units for them to be allowed to disembark the vessel.
As agreed upon during the meeting, porters are still not allowed to work at the pier as part of safety measures. (R. Tutas)