The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said that a vessel carrying three buses of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) has successfully landed at Sta. Clara Port in Barangay Jubasan, Allen town, Northern Samar on Sunday morning.
The buses were carrying 62 LSIs who are bound to Davao City. They were transported from Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, where thousands of stranded individuals crammed in the baseball stadium, breaking social distancing protocols.
Officials said people flooded the government’s transportation program in hopes to return to their homes following months of massive lockdown.
With this, the PCG is also ramping up its efforts for the safe transport of LSIs.
On Sunday afternoon, some PCG personnel also coordinated the safe and secured arrival and departure of one vessel containing eight buses that will transport 161 LSIs to Mindanao at Dapdap Port, Barangay Kinabranan II in Allen, Northern Samar.
The transportation-attached agency also lent eight of its buses, with additional four escort vehicles and one truck. It also deployed 25 medical technologists to conduct rapid testing at LSIs currently billeted at the sports stadium in Manila.
The PCG is also preparing the BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301) and two other multi-role response vessels (MRRV) to transport more LSIs in Visayas and Mindanao regions.
Some LSIs have been appealing to the government to allow them to return to their provinces amid massive job loss and hunger. But several local government heads remain hesitant, citing that some of them might be carriers of the deadly virus.