By Armando Fenequito Jr.
DAVAO CITY – A total of 201 stranded domestic tourists in Davao and Soccsksargen Region already brought back to their homes in Luzon through the Davao-Manila sweeper flight sponsored by the Department of Tourism (DOT) last May 2.
The DOT-11 released as statement on Sunday saying that the 168 passengers from all over Davao Region, and 33 passengers from Soccsksargen Region have been stranded in Mindanao for 48 days since the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was implemented in Manila and in Mindanao on March 15.
It stated that prior to the confirmation of their flight, DOT regions 11 and 12 recorded the stranded tourists, and have been in contact with them during the entire duration of their stay in Mindanao so that they could be given assistance.
The DOT-11 said coordination with local government units (LGUs) were made so that the stranded tourists could be allowed to go home to their respective hometown.
The passengers boarded Cebu Pacific 5J594 from Davao International Airport (DIA) to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), where DOT-National Capital Region (NCR) officials and health authorities waited to welcome and screen them.
After the flight landed, passengers were shuttled to their respective home cities in Metro Manila, such as Muntinlupa, Quezon City, Makati, among others, and other hometowns in Luzon such as Laguna, Cavite, and Pampanga, in coordination with Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Luzon LGUs.