By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said over the weekend that they will study the proposal submitted by fast craft operators to implement a “no vaccination, no travel” policy instead of the negative RT-PCR test result requirement.

According to Familiaran, as he himself is also a businessman, he admits he is also feeling the current economic situation, especially the fast craft operators, pointing he also worked for the now-defunct ferry company Negros Navigation in the past.

However, the vice mayor said the proposal sent by the fast craft operators, led by Weesam Express operator Frank Carbon, needs a careful review.

He said they are currently monitoring the situation for the next week or two, and if they notice that there is a drop in new COVID-19 cases, they may approve the fast craft operators’ request.

He further added the current travel restriction between Bacolod City and Iloilo City is also creating a chain effect among the small business and transportation operators in the city’s port area.

Earlier on Friday, January 14, Carbon proposed replacing the current negative RT-PCR test result requirement with the “no vaccination, no travel” policy.

He pointed out since the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo and the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental are now under Alert Level 3, there shouldn’t be travel restriction anymore.

He even used the example of Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, Jr., wherein the Iloilo provincial government is not requiring a negative RT-PCR test result from travelers arriving at the Dumangas Port from Bacolod City./DGB, WDJ