BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The return of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) to Bago City, Negros Occidental is temporarily suspended.
Western Visayas’ Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF) approved the request of the Bago City government for a 10-day moratorium on LSI arrivals beginning Thursday.
The moratorium is stated in RIATF Resolution 53 and approved by its chair, Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero of the Department of Interior and Local Government Region 6.
In requesting for the timeout, local authorities cited their quarantine facilities reaching full capacity.
On Oct. 22, the Bago City government sent a letter to the DILG-6 requesting for a 10-day moratorium “to give sufficient time for the preparation of quarantine facilities before accommodating the new batch of LSIs.”
The DILG-6 then sent a letter to the Department of Health Region 6 (DOH-6) for an assessment of the viability of Bago City’s request.
“The DOH-6 provided the RIATF with Bago City data, recommending the approval of the above stated moratorium. After the moratorium on the period provided, the suspension on the arrival of LSIs is deemed lifted in the area identified,” the resolution said.
Earlier, two other cities in Negros Occidental have also stopped accepting LSIs to allow them localities to prepare for the return of more residents.
Based on the RIATF-6’s Resolution 50, acceptance of LSIs in Victorias City has been suspended for seven days – from Oct. 23 to 30 – while in San Carlos City, for 14 days – from Oct. 23 to Nov. 6./PN
