By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

With Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia issuing Executive Order No. 21 over the weekend, which immediately placed the city under a general community quarantine where all land, air and sea travel to and from the city is restricted, the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) yesterday began enforcing a lockdown across the city.
BCPO director, Police Colonel Henry Biñas, said they have already deployed personnel to conduct checkpoints along areas bordering Bago City, Talisay City, and Murcia.
He noted, “Only individuals who are working or have a very important business matter to attend to in the city will be allowed to go out or enter here.”
Joining law enforcement officials at the checkpoints will be personnel from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and City Health Office (CHO).
At present, CHO has recorded seven patients under investigation in the city, who have since been placed on quarantine at several hospitals.
In response to the lockdown, while management of Vallacar Transit Inc., operator of the Ceres bus liner, earlier affirmed there would be no trip cancellations, management clarified they cancelled routes bound for Cebu and Dumaguete City after their respective provinces also declared lockdowns./DGB, WDJ