By Liezle Basa Inigo LINGAYEN, Pangasinan---The Provincial Government of Pangasinan assisted another 49 locally stranded individuals (LSIs) at the Rosales-Tarlac border,the Pangasinan Information Office (PIO) said on Monday (June 1). Forty-nine more locally stranded individuals at the Rosales-Tarlac border underwent swab testing administered by the Provincial Health Office.
(Photo by Pangasinan PIO/MANILA BULLETIN ) The PIO said these Pangasinenses were stranded at the Rosales-Tarlac border after they failed to present one or two of the required documents to pass the checkpoint: a medical certificate from the municipal or city municipal health office of the point of origin, and a travel authority from the Philippine National Police (PNP). One stranded individual said she hitched a ride with a friend also bound for the province of Pangasinan, but both were denied entry due to lack of necessary documents. “Ang meron lang po ako ay ‘yung galing sa munisipyo na travel pass at health certificate na nagsasabi na wala akong sakit at nakakakumpleto ako ng 14 days na quarantine (All I have is a travel pass from the municipal office and a health certificate that says I am not sick and that I completed 14 days of quarantine),” Bienlyn Bello said. Bello stayed ten days at the border and underwent swab testing administered by the Provincial Health Office (PHO), along with 48 other stranded Pangasinenses who were at the border for about a week or so. She said it was difficult to be away from her family amid the scorching heat and intermittent rain. Bello thanked the provincial government and the PNP for facilitating and assisting the entry of stranded individuals like her. “Nagpapasalamat po ako kay Governor Espino na tumulong sa amin para makapasok sa Pangasinan, kahit medyo natagalan ang proseso kasi nandiyan siya at hindi niya kami pinabayaan (I thank Gov. Espino who helped us enter Pangasinan, even if the process took a while, because he was there for us and didn't neglect us),” she said. The stranded Pangasinenses were all closely monitored by health workers, Bello also said. She was among the fourth batch of people stranded at the Rosales-Tarlac border who were assisted by the provincial government through its Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO). The stranded individuals of the fourth batch were composed of Pangasinenses from: Aguilar (2), Alaminos City (2), Alcala (1), Asingan (4), Balungao (7), Binmaley (2), Bolinao (3), Bugallon (1), Calasiao (1), Dagupan City (2), Lingayen (2), Malasiqui (3), Manaoag (5), Natividad (1), Rosales (1), San Carlos (2), San Fabian (1) San Nicolas (1), Sta. Barbara (2), Sison (2), Umingan (2), and Villasis (2).