9 local tourists rescued as boat stalls off Davao Norte, but were charged later for quarantine violations
Personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) became the knights in a shining armour for nine passengers of a motorized banca which stalled in the middle of the sea in Davao del Norte.
And then the spoiler came: They could not just go home yet since they were facing a case of violation of the quarantine protocols of the Island Garden City of Samal.
In a statement, the PCG said they immediately sent a team to rescue the victims after one of them was able to contact local authorities to seek assistance on March 9.
Their motorized boat malfunctioned after being repeatedly hit by big waves.
The rescue operation was successful as the nine passengers were transferred to the Coast Guard vessel and were later transported to its station for initial medical check and other forms of assistance.
But during the investigation, the local Coast Guard personnel found out that the nine passengers violated the executive order of the Island Garden of Samal in relation to the limiting of operations of tourism activities in the area.
It appeared that the nine passengers came from Island Garden of Samal and did some activities in violations of the existing protocols of the area. The PCG did not elaborate further.
“Upon investigation, the PCG found out that the rescued individuals violated Executive Order Number 277 of the Island Garden City of Samal amid the ongoing pandemic,” the Coast Guard said.
The PCG said the rescued individuals were turned over to the Samal City Health Office for the conduct of RT-PCR test and mandatory isolation.
They are also facing charges for violating quarantine rules.