BACOLOD CITY — The provincial government of Negros Occidental has allowed the resumption of Ceres bus trips to Negros Oriental effective Saturday, Nov. 20.
This came five days after the Inter-Agency Task Force of Negros Oriental issued a resolution on Nov. 15 approving the request of the Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI) to resume operations covering the route (Dumaguete City to Bacolod City and vice-versa via Mabinay and San Carlos City, provided that health and safety protocols are strictly enforced.
Based on the guidelines released by the provincial government, Ceres buses will be allowed 70-percent passenger capacity and passengers’ lists or manifesto will be required for the monitoring and contact tracing of the local government unit.
According to provincial administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II, there will be four buses plying between Bacolod and Dumaguete via Mabinay.
For trips between Bacolod and Cebu, there will be two buses daily via Mabinay route and another four via Don Salvador Benedicto town, Diaz said.
Diaz added that only vehicles from the bus firm’s south terminal situated here will be allowed to transport passengers.
This meant that trips via San Carlos City to Dumaguete, Bacolod to Canlaon City via La Castellana, Sipalay City and Hinoba-an to Negros Oriental remain closed, Diaz noted.
Diaz stressed that fully vaccinated travelers are required to present an S-Pass and COVID-19 vaccination cards or certificates.
Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travelers should present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result aside from the S-Pass, he said.
S-Pass scanning and verification of incoming passengers will be done at all borders and ports of entry.
Diaz warned individuals with fake documents that they will be subjected to 14-day quarantine and must undergo RT-PCR tests on the fifth day from their arrival at their own expense.